Hello Diary
by TGSquirtle
Summary: Yugi and Yami are living a dream. Everything in the world makes sense, until Bakura returns from his imprisonment and cruelly bestows the two with a "gift". He then proceeds to do the most horrid thing imaginable. Take it all away. YxYY, Mpreg
1. Curse the Clock!

If you've made it to this page, then somehow I've managed to grab your attention! Woot! I can only hope to keep it as the story progresses! ;)

WARNINGS: YugixYami, Mpreg, Mature themes (This fic starts off very happy, but it's going to get very dark very fast.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in the series.

* * *

A soft light crept through closed windows and slowly began to illuminate the sleeping bodies of two boys. Though similar in appearance, the two couldn't be more different. The smaller one was a boy who radiated pure innocence and good will at every moment. He was Yugi Muto, the King of Games. Although he was shoved into the spotlight after winning Pegasus' Duel Monsters tournament two years back, he never let fame get to him for a second. He actually preferred the quiet life; he wished to keep things as normal as possible, which he soon realized was quite _im_possible. The boy just _kept on winning_. He sighed softly in his sleep as he leaned his small frame further back against the stomach of the older boy behind him. The other boy wrapped an arm possessively around his light, then did not move, his slow breathing mixing with that of Yugi's . The taller, darker one was actually once the spirit of a five thousand year old Pharaoh. However, when all was said and done, instead of returning to his own time, he chose to stay with the one he promised to forever protect, and in exchange, was granted his own body. Yami, as he was called, was a very quiet, determined individual. Quiet though he was, he could easily kick the crap out of anyone who tried to mess with Yugi or their friends. A certain indescribable gracefulness and confidence was always present in Yami. Always, except well, maybe for today.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"AIBOU!!!"

Incredible large violet eyes snapped opened, and Yugi Muto quickly sat up in his bed, immediately turning his attention to the tan figure who had bolted upright next to him. His eyes were wide with worry as he hurriedly scanned his dark's face.

"What?"

The boy's darker half Yami froze and put his finger to his lips, signaling Yugi to listen.

"Yami-"

"Shhh…"

"No Yami-Ahh!" Yugi cried out as Yami tackled him back down to the bed and covered his mouth with his hand.

"Isjusalamclok…" Yugi tried to say though his words came out completely muffled. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I said, it's just the alarm clock!" the small boy said as he blew Yami's hand off of his mouth.

Yami clumsily jumped off of Yugi and off the bed and gazed around; his sharp crimson eyes darting in every direction.

"What's the matter?! What is it warning us of!?"

Yugi chuckled as he reached over to Yami's nightstand and shut the damn thing off. Yami's tense body immediately relaxed after the noise was removed, but he continued his deathly glare at the closed bedroom door.

"It just means that it's time for me to get up. I forgot I brought this in here last night. You know Grandpa almost caught us last time. He'd have a fit if he knew I've been coming in here to sleep with you at night. Remember what he said when we first starting dating?"

"Hmmm…" Yami furrowed his brows in thought. "Something along the lines of you hurt my grandson and your ass is out the door?"

Yugi couldn't suppress a laugh.

"Yes, well that too, but he told both of us that the only way you could stay here is if we respected the fact that he's living in the house too. Grandpa's very protective of me; he doesn't want to think that I'm, uhh…" A blush quickly spread throughout his cheeks and he suddenly became very interested in the ceiling. "_Doing_ things with you…It would probably give him a heart attack…"

Yami turned around to look at his light and couldn't help but grin. He loved when Yugi got embarrassed, it was absolutely adorable. He returned to the bed and crept over Yugi, gently pulling his chin down so that their eyes met, gorgeous amethyst to fierce crimson, faces only inches apart.

"But we're not doing anything, and I would never ask you for your innocence until you were ready. You know that. I love you Yugi, you are my everything, and I never want to hurt or upset you in any way."

As Yami said that, a cloud of darkness passed over Yugi's eyes but it was so quick Yami didn't notice. The boy was relieved at the tears that had begun forming at the corners of his eyes, and the distraction it caused.

"Yugi?"

"I'm just happy." Yugi looked at him with a smile, which was partly true. He was happy. More than he'd ever been. They'd been through so much together over the years and he was so deeply in love with his partner. The two were definitely made for each other and yet, something continued to eat at Yugi every time he looked at him. Yugi threw it to the back of his mind, and focused his attention on the handsome Egyptian in front of him.

Yami wiped the tears away and Yugi gently pushed his face forward, closing the distance between him and his Yami. Kissing him was always so amazing. He swore that time always stood still and all of his problems and stresses melted away every time his lips connected with the other man. At that moment, he and Yami were the only two people in the world. They remained blissfully still until Yugi pulled back from the sweet kiss, and looked straight into Yami's eyes.

"I love you too," he said with a smile. "So much…"

They just laid there, gazing into each other's eyes for what seemed eternity, until the alarm clock went off again, and Yami's paranoia returned.

"Wait a minute…what's today?" Yugi said turning to Yami, worry etched on his delicate features once more.

"Tuesday, why?"

Yugi's eyes grew wide and he yelled "SHIT!" as he jumped off of the bed and ran to the door. Yami shot him a look, and Yugi quickly covered his mouth. "Sorry, it's just, I forgot! My math final's today! If I don't leave now I'm not gonna make it! AAAAH!" He ran from the room and Yami slapped his forehead. If Solomon wasn't aware of them sleeping together, he certainly was now, seeing as how Yugi's scream had come from a room that definitely wasn't his. Yami then proceeded over to the table and the clock and began to try and figure out how the hell Yugi managed to shut the thing up.

"You there, you…thing! I command you to shut up," he growled.

He shook it a couple of times, then started pushing a couple of the buttons on it, but was having no luck. Yugi walked in five minutes later in his school uniform and was glad he did; he was met with Yami's arm pulled back in preparation to chuck the clock out the now open window.

"YAMI!"

Yami turned to him and smiled sheepishly, then quickly put the clock down. Yugi ran over to it and shut it off before stepping up on his tip-toes to kiss Yami goodbye and run out the door.

"Love you!" he called as he ran down the stairs to the Game Shop.

"Yugi, wait, you forgot the puzzle!"

"No time! I'll get Tristan and Joey to walk me home today!"

"Well, good luck on your test!"

"Thanks!"

Yami chuckled as he heard a crash downstairs; Yugi had probably almost run over his poor grandpa in his effort to get out of the house.

After listening to confirm that Yugi's grandpa was still alive, Yami receded into his mind once more. He wasn't comfortable with Yugi not having the puzzle on; it was their only way of communication when they were separated. For some reason, Yugi now had to be the one wearing it in order to establish the mind link. Yami assumed it was due to the fact that he was no longer inhabiting the sixteen year old boys' body. He knew Joey and Tristan were capable of taking on most people that could possibly try to get at Yugi, but it still made him nervous. There were psychos in the past who had tried to kill the boy for the puzzle, and Yami was sure they hadn't seen the last of those. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as a loud growl emitted from his stomach.

"Stop that." He said as he poked his stomach.

When the growl came back, he sighed and proceeded downstairs. He stepped into the kitchen and busily began to open the cabinets, picking up certain things and setting them down. Yugi's grandfather quickly came into the room, his eyes wide.

"What are you doing?"

"Making breakfast."

"Oh no, you're not."

"And why not?"

"Don't you remember what happened last time you tried that? Yugi almost broke all his teeth trying to eat your food."

"They were pancakes…"

"They were HARD, Yami. Pancakes aren't supposed to be hard," he said with a laugh. "Not to mention you almost burned this entire place down."

Yami frowned. It had almost been a full year since he'd had his body and he still couldn't get used to it and all the modern technologies of this age. It didn't help either that he had decided against attending school in order to spend more time learning of any evil that could cross their path.

"Now, now, you'll learn. Hey, look on the bright side; you're a heck of a lot better off than you were last year! Hahaha, remember? You spent about six hours straight trying to figure out how the toilet worked when you got your body last May."

Yami blushed and slowly sank into a seat at the table. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. That's right, this coming Friday he would have had his body for a whole year. One whole glorious year with his little light. Something he at one time wasn't sure he even had the privilege to dream of. He belonged by his side. With Yugi, not only did he know of his past, but he also knew of his future. With Yugi, he had an identity.

"Hey Solomon, this Friday will be Yugi and I's, uhh, _annieveresarrie_…."

"Anniversary, right, go on."

"Yes, well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Anniversary's are days that you celebrate your love. And that can be done in a number of ways. Make Yugi feel special. Yami, that boy is going to love you no matter what you do. Oh, but don't you dare think about proposing to him just yet. You boys are much too young to even think about getting married."

Yami nodded and sat contently as Solomon began working on some eggs.

* * *

Yugi's foot was tapping against the ground as he moved on to the last question of the exam. The classroom was mostly empty; there were only three students still taking the exam, including Yugi. Yugi was a very precise test-taker; he always felt he had to check and double check things. It always took him a long time to complete exams. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to remember the process of solving the present equation, and saw out of the corner of his eye two figures standing outside the door. He grinned to himself as he turned to look at them through the window on the door; it was obviously Tristan and Joey. Both of them were walking back and forth and throwing funny faces at the teacher, who was reading a book. Yugi snorted as Joey went crosseyed and Tristan pushed his friend's face to the window.

'_He looks like some kind of deformed pig!_' Yugi thought to himself as he quietly giggled.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Muto?"

Yugi snapped his head over to the teacher, as Joey and Tristan immediately ducked out of view.

"Umm, no sir. I was just…thinking…"

"Hmm." The teacher snorted as he returned to his book, and Tristan and Joey reappeared at the window. Yugi held up his hand, signaling them to give him about five more minutes. Joey gave him a thumbs up and the blonde and brunette stepped away from the window as Yugi returned to the problem at hand. Darn math.

* * *

Yami cursed loudly. He had settled on the couch and turned the television on, only to find that he had missed Oprah. He didn't know why the hell he had become so addicted to that show. That one woman just had so much inner strength; it reminded him a lot of his former days as the Pharaoh. When Yugi found out about Yami's little addiction, all he could do was giggle for weeks. The poor boy was sent into stitches every time Yami yelled "HOLY SHIT!" as he heard the show come on and run wildly into the living room.

Angrily, Yami began cycling through channels on the TV, in the hopes that he could find something else to keep his attention. He found it.

A local news anchor had cut away to some breaking news he'd just received about a warehouse fire that had broken out. Yami immediately was brought back to a time he didn't like to remember, but most certainly did. Marik had control of Bandit Keith and was using him to duel Yugi. Then the fire started and his light refused to leave without the puzzle. Yet another incident where Yugi could have been killed on his behalf…If it hadn't been for his friends, Yugi never would have made it…

His eyes regained focus on the TV screen as a shot of a curious onlookers passed the screen. Yami scanned the faces, then found one that he definitely recognized. It was Ryou. The poor boy who had been cursed with such a horrible Yami. Well, on the bright side, he was finally rid of him, thanks to Yami successfully locking him in the Shadow Realm. But why was he there? Suspicious…Woah, wait a minute…was that…

"Now that's funny. I thought Yugi said Ryou had gotten rid of the Millennium Ring." He said quietly.

This brought up a whole new set of questions he wanted answers to. Why on earth would Ryou keep that thing? It symbolized everything he was once so desperate to get away from! What if Bakura somehow managed to escape his confinement and had returned his spirit to the ring? It was very slim, but Yami was never one to take a chance with odds. He would be paying Ryou a visit tomorrow, since Yugi would be home soon and he didn't want to worry him. Yes, tomorrow morning, while Yugi was at school. He shut the television off and proceeded upstairs, off to ponder about the day ahead.

* * *

_Hello Diary,_

_Well, today was alright. I took my math final, and I think it went pretty well. Haha, let's hope! Tristan and Joey managed to weasel their way out of another detention after Mr. Risen caught them making faces at him… Tristan made up a story about how Joey had some kind of incurable mental disease and those faces he was making were out of desperation to get Joey away from the window. Joey totally played the part too. I can't believe he actually bought it! Haha, I have the best friends in the whole world! Oh, I think Tea's thinking about trying out for the dance team next year. My only question is why hasn't she before? She really is an amazing dancer! In other news, Yami seems really upset tonight. He says he missed Oprah, but I'm thinking that's not the only thing wrong. I hope it's nothing serious._

_ -Until tomorrow,_

_ Yugi Muto_


	2. Interrogation

A/N: Whew, I need to be better about updating! Transitional chapters are kinda hard for me to write, since I know exactly what I'm doing for later parts of the story, and I just have to figure out how I'm getting everyone to those points. Reviews much appreciated! ;)

WARNINGS: YugixYami, Mpreg, Mature Themes

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

Yami quietly stood in thought, his right hand scratching the back of his head, and sighed as he tried to remember just exactly where he had placed his favorite black sleeveless top. While circling his room he caught sight of himself in the full-length mirror on his door and smirked as he glanced down at his only piece of clothing, the tight black leather pants hugging his lower body. He went forward to meet the mirror only to have his left foot collide with one of the dark boots carelessly lying on the floor. He rubbed his foot as he quietly muttered curses to himself, then abandoned the mirror, taking it as a sign that admiring himself was the last thing he needed to be doing right now.

Yami scanned his closet a third time, pulling aside several leather items as he continued his search. '_Black. Black. Black. Well, I'm never going to find it this way.'_ He turned once more to scan his bed, seeing only disheveled black sheets and inwardly groaned when he saw that Yugi's puzzle remained idle on his desk.

'Oh, Yugi…'he gave a disappointed sigh as he grabbed the boot that had been responsible for his throbbing foot, then found the other and pulled both of them on.

This was the second day that his light had left the puzzle behind. That was indeed odd, and Yami could only hope that it wasn't intentional; that Yugi wasn't hiding something from him. But he couldn't worry about that now. He made a mental note to later remind Yugi again of the importance of wearing the puzzle as he opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. Yami then proceeded downstairs, made his way to the shop portion of the house, opened the front door, and stepped outside.

He was met with a familiar sight; Solomon Muto humming softly as he swept the pavement in front of the shop. Yami couldn't help but smile at the man Yugi admired so much and trusted with his life. Yugi truly loved his grandfather, and Yami himself was very fond of the man as well, although he wished he knew more about the circumstances in which Yugiwas brought in to live with him. He knew that Yugi was only ten when Solomon gained custody of him, and that was about it. Yami had gently asked Yugiabout the situation before, but the boy had made it very clear that the death of his parents was not something he wanted to re-live, and that was the end of that. However, as time passed, Yami grew intrigued when he realized that Yugi didn't talk about his parents at all for that matter, and neither did Solomon. Not once did Yugi's grandfather ever mention his daughter; something that the former Pharoah found a bit odd. There was a story there, he was sure of it, but he silently wondered if he'd ever know of it. Regardless, Yami was incredibly grateful for the man that had practically become both a mother and a father to his grandson, and could only hope that the man would be around for many, many more years. Yami slowly raised a hand up to Solomon in the hopes of getting his attention and was a bit surprised at how fast he got it.

"YAMI! For goodness sake boy, go put a shirt on! The last thing we need is more screaming girls standing around the shop blocking business!" he smacked Yami's butt with the broom, motioning for him to step inside.

Yami opened his mouth to protest but Solomon beat him to it.

"It's on top of the couch! I washed it last night!"

Yami smiled and gave him a thumbs up before stepping back into the house. Sure enough, his top was lying neatly on the couch, and Yami quickly pulled it on before returning to the front door. After exchanging a few words with Solomon, Yami turned to his left and began the journey to his destination: Ryou's place. It would be quite a bit of a walk, but he didn't mind. He thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors, something he was finally allowed to truly do, and he gave a small sigh as he comfortably took in each surrounding sight and sound. Eventually, his surroundings became less and less familiar, and he began to proceed with more caution. He quickly scanned his memory for reassurance that he was going to the right place.

Yugi and his friends had been over to Ryou's apartment a few times before, but Yami couldn't say that he was a fan of the neighborhood. All of the neighboring buildings were run down, filthy, and the complex itself was full of very odd people. He growled as he walked around a building, and his mind traveled to his old friend, Ryou. The last time he had seen him, the boy had been in real bad shape. After being released of his evil, the atrocious presence within the Millennium Ring, things seemed like they were finally going to pick up for him, and for a while, they actually did. Ryou for once had a confident energy to him, and he was finally able to speak his own mind. He was truly free, until the accident happened. Ryou's father had been hit head on by a driver who was drunk and speeding on the wrong side of the road. The car was totaled, and sadly, the boy's father didn't make it.

Ryou lost his spirit when he lost his father. The boy was broken and no amount of help could return him to what he once was. He was forced to move from his home, and with no known relatives around, he was left to fend for himself. Yugi had actually begged Ryou to stay with him for awhile, at least until he was able to get on his feet, but the boy had harshly declined. Yugi continued pleading with him which proved a mistake for both, as Ryou went into a frenzy and cruelly hit his friend across the face, claiming he didn't need him or anyone anymore. All it took was the sight of the shock and hurt on Yugi's face, and that first tear rolling down his cheek to send Yami into hysterics. He could clearly remember slamming the albino against a wall, and angrily telling him to get his ass out of their house and that he never wanted to see him around him or Yugi again. Yugi immediately protested, but was almost hesitant of doing so; rarely had he seen Yami so angry, and as always, it truly terrified him. Afterwards, Ryou slowly drifted away from his other friends; trading them in for a life of solitude. Ryou had dropped out of school, instead getting a full-time job to help him pay his expenses.

Yami was brought back to the present when he reached Ryou's door, and knocked three times, hoping the boy was actually home. He gasped when the door opened; he almost didn't recognize the pale boy before him. His eyes drifted over Ryou's colorless skin, and the lost expression he wore.. The only color on him came from his clothing and the Millennium Ring he continued to wear around his neck. Everything about the boy almost seemed to droop; it was as if all the weight he was carrying on his shoulders was literally dragging him down. He was also incredibly thin; he looked to be even smaller than Yugi now, something Yami didn't think was even possible. He confidently stared straight into Ryou's large eyes.

Ryou looked right back of Yami, a wave of emotions crashing over him.

"What do you want?" he spat. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"I didn't plan to. Now are you going to let me in, or am I going to have to stand here all day?" Ryou hesitantly stood aside to let Yami into his place, which he noticed looked just as run-down on the inside as it did on the outside. He waited until Ryou closed the door behind him, and sat down on an old couch before he started speaking.

"Now I am going to ask you something, and you better sure as hell tell me the truth."

Ryou looked straight into his eyes.

"Why on Earth do you still have that thing? With Bakura gone I would have figured you would have destroyed it."

Ryou sat quiet for a moment; his gaze as firm as Yami's, then spoke, his voice filled with a confidence that Yami hadn't heard in a long time.

"Tell me Yami, do you know what it's like to lose someone you love?"

Yami just crossed his arms at his question and stared right on back at Ryou, who was searching his eyes.

"No, no, of course you don't. You're living the perfect little life, aren't you? You've got all your happy little friends, and hey, you've even got a little something to make everything worthwhile."

Yami's eyes narrowed and Ryou chuckled.

"Yes, our dear little Yugi. You really do love him, don't you? Now, now, before you get all upset, I must say that it is bloody obvious. I may be naïve but I'm not stupid. And I'm sure he feels the same for you, yes?"

"What the hell does this have to do with-" Yami growled.

"Everything. It has everything to do with it. Now, how would you feel if you were to lose him forever, hmm?"

Yami's gaze faltered.

"Would you ever recover?"

Silence.

"Well, would you?!"

Silence.

"ANSWER ME!"

Yami was a bit taken aback by how loud Ryou screamed and how his fists shook uncontrollably in his lap, but he stood his ground and took a step forward.

"Ryou, you need help."

The albino growled and stood up from his position on the couch, and briskly walked right over to Yami, who was leaning against a wall.

"You want to know why I keep it? This ring here is the one and only thing I have left. Surely you remember who gave it to me? My _father_. And where is he now, huh? Huh? Even though it wasn't what we had expected and my yami was an awful murderer and a thief…in the end, it was a gift, and the last remaining possession I have of my father's. It's the only piece of him I have left. You want to take that away from me? I'm telling you, my life will go with it." He glared at Yami with such an unknown intensity that Yami almost gasped. Almost. He watched stunned as color returned to Ryou's eyes in his rage.

"Bakura!"

"Bakura?" Ryou quietly repeated. "I'm not Ba-oooh, I get it, that's why you're here. You're afraid he might come back? Now how could that be possible? What, your oh so high and mighty powers not good enough to keep him locked away? Hmm. Well if he does come back, be sure to ask him to take me out first. I'd appreciate it." He walked over to the door and opened it, beckoning for Yami to leave.

Yami stepped outside and turned, only to have the door slammed in his face. He gave a heavy sigh and analyzed what he just experienced. Ryou was clearly still upset, and definitely not the person he was a year ago. Yami couldn't help but notice how much of Bakura Ryou had adopted into his own character, and it made him sigh heavily. The darkness dragging the boy down was the only evil he could currently sense. His own darkness was consuming him. And for Bakura? As long as the ring survived, a portal to this world survived as well. It was near impossible, but knowing Bakura, he'd give everything he had to try and find a way back. He'd just have to keep a cautious eye out for both him and Ryou in the future. If Bakura ever did return, and the two were reunited, and he didn't kill Ryou, the two could possibly be even more dangerous together...

Yami leaned against the nearest wall, his head swimming with unpleasant thoughts. However, there was no evidence of anything so far; he had nothing to go on. He took a deep breath, turned, and proceeded down the steps, oblivious of the flash in Ryou's eyes as he watched from his window.

* * *

"Yugi?"

"Yes Grandpa?"

"Can you come over into the kitchen? I need to speak with you."

Yugi promptly stepped into the kitchen, and sat down at the table when his grandfather motioned him to. Solomon took a seat opposite of him and looked into the young boy's large eyes.

"Yugi…how long has this been going on?"

Yugi suddenly shifted in his seat, adding his grandfather's expression to his tone to equal…something not so good, and it made him very uncomfortable.

"W-what do you mean, grandpa?"

"You know very well what I mean," he sharply stated.

Yugi opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words came.

Solomon continued. "I was vacuuming an hour ago, and I came across this in Yami's room." He reached under the table, and pulled out a stuffed Kuriboh plushie, and set it upright on the table.

The reaction was instant. Yugi immediately groaned when he saw it and set his forehead on the table.

"Now why on Earth would an exact replica of your stuffed duel monster be in Yami's room? You can't sleep without it, and I highly doubt the former Egyptian Pharaoh is napping with one of these…"

"It's mine…" he slowly said, his voice muffled by the table. All he wanted to do was violently bang his head on the crafted piece of wood in front of him; how could he have been so careless? He always remembered to bring back Kuriboh to his room, always.

"Well, duh. So tell me, how long?"

Yugi looked up but was unable to look his grandfather in the face, so he resorted to gazing down at his hands on the table.

"Two months?"

Yugi looked up after a moment of silence, tears creeping into the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, grandpa. I didn't mean to go behind your back. I just…I didn't know how to tell you. I'll stop if you want, just please don't throw him out! It was my mistake, I-"

"I let him live here," Solomon started, his voice full of disappointment, "and I made it clear that there were boundaries…"

"Grandpa, I…I'm sorry…" There was a long pause as he contemplated his next question. "But why? Why the boundaries? Yami's been around for a whole year, he's obviously not using me. What is that you're trying to protect me from?" he whispered as the tears that had collected began to stream down his face.

"Yugi, you should know that better that I do," Solomon said as he shook his head. "Do you truly think that you just sleeping with him can remain innocent? Yugi, I had about thirteen girlfriends by the time I was your age, I know what happens. Regardless of what you think, eventually, it will lead to sex, and my boy, you're not ready for that. You've been hurt…you're fragile, so very fragile…"

Solomon hung his head, then sighed as tears pricked at the corner of his own eyes.

Yugi sat silently, before stating, "Grandpa, I'm telling you, I'm fine now. That's all in the past."

Solomon gave another heavy sigh as he wiped away any evidence of the struggle within him.

"Yes, of course." A pause. "You know, Yugi?" he said looking up with a small smile. "Who am I to keep two people in love away from each other? Yugi, you don't have to hide these things from me anymore. I want you to have the freedom to make your own choices, heck, you'll be seventeen in a month or so, and I want you to start taking responsibility for your own actions. I just ask that you be careful and please let me know what's going on in your head. You're getting so big, and every year, I feel you keep more and more to yourself. Talk to me Yugi. That's what I'm here for."

Yugi sat stunned for a moment, then happily wiped away his own tears and sat up straight.

"R-really?"

"Really really," his grandpa said with a smile. Yugi immediately got up from his side of the table and proceeded over to Solomon, pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you Grandpa."

"You're welcome, my boy. But, oh phooey, what's that Spiderman quote?"

Yugi chuckled into his grandfather's shoulder, and muttered, "With great power comes great responsibility."

"Yes, well, keep that in mind."

Yugi smiled, tightly hugging the old man in reassurance.

* * *

_Hello Diary,_

_Holy cow. So Kuriboh gave it all away! Haha, but I'm not mad, because one, he was bound to find out sooner or later, and two, the result was better than I could have imagined. Grandpa's not going to make us stop! He's letting me make my own decisions regarding Yami, so long as I open up to him, and that's fine with me! In other news, Yami's down again, and I don't know why. I told him about the situation and he was really relieved though. Later, he gave me another talk about me not wearing the puzzle, and I didn't want to worry him, so I had to tell him the truth. Our anniversary's this Friday! Two more days! I can't have him in my head while I plan all of this! I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait. It's going to be great. Yami's taking me out to dinner to some fancy place downtown, and Grandpa's not going to be here; he's leaving tomorrow to visit Professor Hawkins, and won't be back for a couple of days. Gah, have I mentioned I can't wait?_

_Until tomorrow,_

_Yugi Muto_


	3. Motion

A/N: Hah, updating is kinda funny to me, since I never know how quick I'll post a new chapter. Some take flipping forever to write and some are just so fun that I zoom right through them. This is one of those cases. Haha, Tristan and Joey are such fun characters to write! XD

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved.

* * *

"Yami?"

Yugi stood, arms folded into Yami's chest, head to the side, as his dark silently wrapped his arms tighter around the lithe boy. The taller boy didn't respond, just tenderly placed a kiss atop Yugi's head, before giving a sigh and laying his own head upon it.

He couldn't shake it; those words Ryou had mentioned the day before had pained him far more than he had expected.

'_How would you feel if you were to lose him forever?' _

He hardly got any sleep. Yes, Yugi was safe and unharmed, and Ryou had only said that in the hopes of gaining the other's understanding, but as he laid in bed that night with his little light breathing softly to his side, a million what ifs entered his mind, a million awful scenarios ran through his head.

'_Would you ever recover?'_

No. That much was certain. If anything ever happened to Yugi…

"Yami, I have to go…I'm going to be late."

Yami released his arms only to place his hands on Yugi's shoulders as he gazed down into the boy's stunning amethyst eyes.

"I love you, Yugi…you know this, right?"

Yugi stood quietly for a second, concern etched on his face as he looked back at Yami, then nodded.

"I love you too Yami, but, what's wrong? You're acting like we're never going to see each other again."

"And I'll do anything to protect you…"

"Yami-"

Yami sighed. "It's nothing, Aibou. I just had an unpleasant dream."

Yugi gave a sad smile of understanding before closing the distance between him and his love.

"Yami, I'm not going anywhere," He said as he leaned up and kissed his other half gently, before pulling away and whispering a soft, "I love you."

"As do I."

Yugi slowly stepped backwards and smiled, before turning and exiting the game shop.

As Yami watched him walk out the door, he felt a small pang of guilt; maybe he had been a little harsh on Ryou. If he truly loved his father as much as he loved Yugi, then…

He gave another sigh as he thought about just how much strength the boy really had. He couldn't say he could fare any better after being separated from his light…

Yami violently shook his head, pushing such thoughts from his mind. Yugi was safe, they were together, and hey, tomorrow was a very special day for the both of them. This reminded him of something and after awhile Yami left the house, in the opposite direction Yugi had. He had something to pick up.

* * *

"AHHH!"

A yellow blur flew right past Yugi, barely inches away from his left ear. He had thrown himself to the floor just in time, but immediately regretted it as he looked up fearfully at the large student in front of him, who was smugly holding a purple dodge ball and harshly smirking down at him. Yugi tightly closed his eyes and braced himself for the hit, but it never came.

"You're out, pudgy! Yeah, dat's right, keep walking."

Yugi quickly realized it was safe to look up and immediately grinned as he saw that someone had stepped in front of him and caught the ball.

"Thanks, Joey!"

"No problem, Yug. Now get up before some other guy tries to take ya down! TRISTAN!" he suddenly yelled, "GET YA ASS OVER HERE!"

Yugi quickly pulled himself from the floor, and saw Tristan immediately run over, his hands tightly gripping a dodge ball as well. Joey moved the group slowly to the back of their side of the gym, letting those in front take the hits and lowered his voice.

"Okay, Yug, go get that ball over dere, and don't get hit. When you come back over here, we'll move out and attack. I'll take center, Tristan get my left and Yug to the right. Got it?"

Tristan and Yugi nodded, then Yugi took off as fast as he could, jumping over a green dodge ball that was aimed too low at him, and quickly grabbed the forgotten orange ball. Adrenaline pumping, he made his way back over to Tristan and Joey, his eyes on the other side of the gym, hurriedly scanning the male students who were clad in the same gym uniform: a large white T-shirt and navy blue shorts.

"Ready Yugi?" Tristan called.

Yugi nodded and Joey stepped forward and began yelling at the top of his lungs.

"There will be a day, when the courage of men fails! But it is not this day! This day…WE FIGHT! Always wanted to say that…AH SHIT!" he muttered as a ball flew by his outstretched arm. "CHARGE!!!!"

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan each ran in their respective directions, war cries filling the gym and ringing in every other student's ears.

Needless to say, the plan was a complete failure. A ball was hurled at Yugi's stomach and it hit him square on, knocking him to the floor and leaving him desperately gasping for air, Tristan was hit in a not-so-nice place, and Joey took a green dodge ball directly to the face.

"FUCKIN' MONEYBAGS! DID YOU HAVE TO GO FOR MY DAMN FACE!?"

Seto Kaiba stood smugly in the middle of their opponents' side of the gym, (no student had dared try and hit him), his arms crossed, clearly amused.

"Oh come on Wheeler, that mug is already total imperfection, what's one more hit going to hurt?"

Yugi groaned, breathing heavily and attempted to stand as he knew what was coming next.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Sure enough, Joey stomped over to him, harshly grabbing the collar of Seto's T-shirt, and Yugi counted down…

…3…

…2…

…1…

Yup, Joey was on the floor.

A whistle was blown, and the boys' gym coach hurriedly ran over, pulling Joey up from the ground.

"Detention Wheeler. Room 109. After school." He blew his whistle again, this time running after Tristan, who had the guy who had hit him in the groin in a headlock.

Yugi finally got up and made it over to his blonde friend, whose jaw had dropped so low he was afraid it would fall off. He could hear the coach call out another detention; Tristan would be joining Joey later. Yugi looked sadly at his friends when Tristan stomped his way over, fuming, and sighed. Neither of the boys said a word, their faces red and angry.

Yugi suddenly burst out laughing; the thought of what they had just tried to do finally hitting him. The unexpected laughter earned him pissed glances from the other two boys, and he threw his hands up in defense.

"Ch-charge!" he managed to say as laughter racked his body, and soon Joey and Tristan couldn't help but smile and laugh with him. The three were soon laughing so hard that they were crying and grasping each other to keep from falling; earning them many raised eyebrows from the other students. Yugi wiped his eyes and smiled; he and his friends were crazy, and he wouldn't have it any other way. The girls outside were brought in to change as it was almost time for lunch, and the trio quickly waved at Tea, who had also raised her eyebrow at their tear-stained faces before they all went into their respective locker rooms.

* * *

"He's getting suspicious," Ryou whispered as the ghost-like spirit materialized beside him.

"That's our Pharoah, always trying to ruin someone's fun," the spirit spat.

"Fun?" Ryou asked fearfully as he shifted his position on the park bench he was currently occupying.

The white-haired spirit sharply turned to him.

"Do you want your father back or not?"

Ryou quickly nodded, before his gaze returned to Domino Bridge, the only bridge that was visible from practically anywhere in the city.

"It's just that, I don't know where my mind goes when you take over, I don't remember anything…how can I be sure that you're actually trying to find a way…"

Bakura went over to him, grasping Ryou's chin even though he knew he couldn't feel it, but it had the desired effect, and Ryou turned his eyes to him.

"I will get you what you want, but it will take time, and in turn you must continue to be my vessel."

"Do I have a choice?"

Bakura growled. "Before you start whining, keep in mind that it was _you_ who brought me back in the first place."

Ryou's eyes shied away.

"What is it that you want?"

Bakura chuckled and looked up as if in deep thought.

"I want to do something big…really make a difference in this world, and if I can start with you, well, that'll make it all worthwhile." he said as he grabbed Ryou's cheek and harshly shook it.

Ryou grew slightly annoyed by the gesture and and looked down again; he knew Bakura's answer was total bullshit, but what choice did he have?

"People are going to get hurt, aren't they?" he said in a low voice, so low it was almost a whisper.

"You're catching on," Bakura said with a smirk. "You know the more time I spend around you, the more I see that you're not the naive little hikari I left behind the first time, and I must say, I'm quite liking these improvements," the spirit turned from him, and started again.

"I want them to fear me; an enemy they can't see."

Ryou shivered slightly, his gaze still in his lap. Bakura chuckled.

"You shouldn't care for them Ryou. These people didn't care about you when you needed them most, remember?"

"Y-Yugi did," he said hesitantly.

"That scrawny little pipsqueak? Fine, I'll give you that one. But remember, he was only one, one out of billions. They will only get what they deserve." His gaze made it over to the same structure that captured Ryou's eyes earlier. "And I never did like that bridge."

"Just don't hurt Yugi…"

Bakura laughed. "Silly boy, I'm not going to hurt him, I just...need him for something," he said with a smirk. "We can't have that blasted Pharaoh in our hair, now can we? And what's the best way to get rid of him?" he happily inquired, as if he were speaking to a three-year-old.

"Umm...uh..."

"Oh come now, Ryou, you were doing so well..."

"Through Yugi?"

"Right you are. You know, I still can't believe he's actually bedding that pretty little brat…" he said slowly as he rolled his eyes.

Ryou blushed and roughly shook his head.

"We don't…we don't know that."

Bakura smirked. "Oh please. The Pharaoh was a damn whore back in his days. There is no way in hell the little one is still a virgin. Anyway, what we need is a distraction, and I've got just the one. It's old, long-forgotten magic, but the results will be better than imagined, and let's just say the Pharaoh won't have much time for anything else afterwards. Now, what time is it?"

Ryou glanced at his wrist. "Three thirty-five."

"Well, we've got about ten minutes. Come, we must pay a visit to our dear friend. Now, you play your part, and you'll be well rewarded, understand?"

Ryou nodded and stood, the spirit returning to his place inside of the Ring.

* * *

The last bell had rung, and the gang gathered by the doorway before splitting their separate ways.

"Well, time to go face our fate, Joey," Tristan said bitterly.

Joey groaned, then turned to Yugi.

"Hey man, you sure you'll be alright? I mean, ya don't have the puzzle, and-"

"I'll be fine Joey."

"Cuz we could always ditch-"

"NO! Joey, no. You guys would just get into more trouble, and I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

Joey and Tristan both raised an eyebrow and Yugi growled, making the older boys chuckle.

"Really guys. Gooooooo," he said as he pushed both of their backs forwards.

"Well, what about Tea?" Joey asked looking over his shoulder. "Maybe she can give ya a ride?"

"She already took off, she had a practice."

Tristan snorted. "You know, for a girl who's always talking about friendship, she sure traded us in fast for dance."

Yugi frowned. "She's not ditching us, it's just taking up a lot of her time," he said, in the hopes of reassuring the others, and most of all, himself. "She just really loves it."

"Oh!" Joey called as he remembered something, "Hey Yug, what are ya doing tomorrow after school? Doofus here and I are going to KaibaLand, to ride the new coaster and smack around some mascots. Wanna come?"

"Sounds like fun Joey, but I, I can't…"

"Why not, ohhhh-" he quickly said as he saw the boy turn a brilliant shade of scarlet. "Yami?"

Yugi quickly nodded, his blush getting deeper. "Tomorrow's our one year anniversary."

Tristan jabbed Joey in the stomach with his elbow, and both grinned before singing loudly, "WAOO, WAOO, WAOO, WAOOOOO! I'VE BEEN REALLY TRYIN' BABY!!! TRYIN' TO HOLD BACK THIS FEELING FOR SO LONGGGGG!"

Yugi's eyes went wide and his blush reached an insane intensity as he frantically grabbed on his friends' arms, trying to silence them.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" he desperately muttered through clenched teeth.

"LET'S GET IT ONNNNNNNNNN!"

"Shhhhh! Guys, shut up!!!"

Tristan and Joey quit their antics, realizing that if Yugi turned any redder he would soon turn into a beet. They waited for their laughter to die down before Tristan looked up at the clock above their heads. "Hey, we better get going man."

"Right. Well, Yug, be careful out there and just remember what we taught ya. If any psychos or jerks come after ya," he made as if he were running in slow motion, "RUN, FOREST, RUN!!!"

Yugi chuckled. "Right, got it, Joey."

"See ya tomorrow Yug."

"See ya!" Tristan called as they walked away.

Yugi smiled and waved back at them before making his way over to his locker, returning some books, pulling others out, and stuffing them into his backpack. When this was finished, he slammed his locker shut and left the school, starting his journey home. It was a nice sunny day. A gentle breeze occasionally brushed his bangs from his face, and as he listened to the sound of his footsteps, his thoughts traveled to Yami. A smile graced his face and remained until he was only a few minutes away from home. He sighed as he stopped at a crosswalk, shifting his feet as he waited for the pedestrian light to turn green.

"Y-Yugi?"

Yugi quickly turned around, recognizing the voice behind him, but somehow being unable to place it. He was met with pale skin, white hair, and chocolate brown eyes, and his brain immediately put two and two together, causing him to flinch.

"Ryou?"

The boy nodded, leaving both of them to look to the ground in an awkward silence.

After what seemed like eternity, Yugi finally spoke up. "So, what are you doing around here?"

"Oh you know, just passing through."

"Oh."

Another minute of silence. Ryou sighed.

"Listen Yugi," Ryou started, "I wanted to stop by and apologize."

"After six months? Ryou, we're close to my house, if Yami sees you…" he said nervously.

"I know."

Yugi felt himself gently be pulled away from the crosswalk and into a small alleyway, where they could have some privacy.

"I was wrong, Yugi. You were only trying to help me, and I took everything out on you. I just took it so hard. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…I never should have hit you, you're my friend. Or…were." he said quietly, tears beginning to form and spill down his face.

Yugi looked up sadly at his now sobbing friend for a moment before pulling him into a gentle hug.

"Shhh…it's okay. I'm still your friend, okay? No matter what. I forgive you Ryou, it's alright."

".…" Ryou managed through choked sobs.

"I know, I know…shhh…it'll be alright…"

As Ryou wrapped his arms around Yugi's small frame, his eyes flashed, and for a moment, Bakura took over. Yugi remained completely oblivious, his head to the side of the albino's chest as he held his friend. Bakura slowly tightened his grip, releasing dark magic into the boy's body and gave an awful smirk when he felt Yugi shudder a bit in his arms. The small boy shook it off, but before he could look up into his friend's face, Bakura had switched with Ryou again, who had released Yugi to dry up his tears.

"Yugi...you should probably go," the pale boy stated as he straightened himself up. "I don't want Yami to worry about you."

"Yeah…"

"I'm so lucky to have ever met you, Yugi Muto. You truly are an amazing person. Thank you."

"Well, thanks for apologizing! I've missed not having you around."

"Well, I can't say I'll be around much, I mean, I'm very busy just trying to make ends meet, and I mean, Yami…well, he doesn't care for me much anymore, and I know he won't want us hanging out anyway. Hey Yugi, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him we met today. I don't him to be angry with you, and it'd only fuel his hate for me. Okay?"

"Oh, um, okay."

"See you around, Yugi, and thank you again. I feel like a huge weight has just been lifted."

Yugi smiled happily at him, then turned and headed back to the crosswalk as Ryou took the opposite direction. Bakura materialized and walked beside him, passing right through the garbage dumpsters and crates in front of him.

"Nicely done," he stated with a grin to the pale boy. "And the _tears_…well, you're quite the little actor, aren't you?"

Ryou only smiled at his comment, before he looked up to the sky in thought.

"What exactly did you do to him?"

Bakura grinned widely. "You'll see soon enough. Heck, the whole world will."

* * *

_Hello Diary,_

_Today was a day full of adventure, and um, detention for Tristan and Joey, but it was fun nonetheless. Oh, so I ran into Ryou out of nowhere today. Turns out he was coming over to apologize, and I'm sure glad he caught me before he made it to the house. (Yami would have killed him!) But we're fine now, which is great, and even though I doubt I'll be seeing much of him, it's nice to know that we were able to patch things up. Annnnnd, tomorrow's the big day!!! Nerves have been killing me. I've been doing a lot of thinking, a whole lot, and I'm thinking, I'm thinking I'm ready. And that means I have to let my past catch up with me…Yami will find out, and I'll have to explain everything, and I'm not really sure how he'll take it. I've kept this from him for so long, and maybe that'll prove to have been my greatest mistake. I've lied to him since the beginning. You know…I guess I need this. Not only to test myself, but to test him as well. Am I ready to face my past? Will he even want me afterwards? I, I don't know…but I have to do this. Maybe, maybe I just want this for all the wrong reasons…I mean, I love him, I do, more than anything, but, I just, I just have to know. I'm not really sure what's going to happen tomorrow, so, I guess:_

_Until next time,_

_Yugi Muto_


	4. Happy Anniversary!

A/N: When it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh!, I tend to play around with both the English and Japanese names. I like to kinda mix-and-match, as you can see in this fic. Most everyone in this has their English names, with the exception of Ryou, and I have given Yami the last name of Atemu, because, lol, I just like the way that sounds better than Atem. So, there you go!

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes NOTE: This chapter contains non-graphic sex; I don't go into much detail but it is there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved.

A/N Again: Lol, enjoy the happy cuteness of this chapter, because the next one's going to be kinda, well, angsty.

* * *

Yami's breath hitched. He was stunned. His beautiful light, his angel, stood at the top of the stairs, clad in a smooth, silky lavender dress shirt, dark denim jeans, fancy black dress shoes, and his usual belted collar. He marveled at the other's beauty as a faint blush spread across Yugi's cheeks.

"Yugi…" he slowly whispered as he outstretched his hand, waiting for Yugi to meet him at the foot of the stairs. When the boy got there, he placed his hand in Yami's and smiled as the other boy kissed it delicately. "You look wonderful, my love."

"Yami, you look amazing…" he started as he acknowledged Yami's outfit. Everything matched Yugi, other than the long-sleeved button-up shirt, which was as fierce a crimson as Yami's eyes.

"For you," he said as he pulled yet another red rose out of what seemed nowhere, and handed it to Yugi. Yugi's blush intensified and he gave Yami a loving kiss in appreciation; Yami had been leaving him roses all day, it started at breakfast, and continued throughout the day, even while Yugi was at school. Yami left one on his desk before the start of every period, and had gotten Tristan and Joey to help him map out Yugi's schedule so that he stayed out of sight. Yugi did catch him once though, leaving a rose in his locker. He immediately dropped his books and ran to him, kissing him so passionately, his legs firmly wrapping around Yami's waist and his arms snaking around his neck, that a passing teacher spat out his coffee and yelled at them to break it up and get to class. Normally, Yugi would have been mortified, but at that moment he honestly could have cared less. This was Yami, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he wasn't afraid to show his love.

Yami and Yugi both grabbed black coats before heading out the door, not so much because of the weather; it was the middle of May, but more so as to hide the gifts they had bought each other; the gifts that were hiding in the pockets.

Yami made sure to lock up the Game Shop before turning to Yugi, who had his head up to the sky.

"It looks like it might rain…Wait, Yami, is that-!?"

Yugi stood shocked as a limo pulled up right in front of the shop, and then he turned his glance to Yami, before shifting it back to the long black vehicle. Yami, limo. Yami, limo. Yami, limo.

Yami chuckled at Yugi's reaction then held out his arm to the small boy, who happily took it as they proceeded over to the driver who had stepped out of the car.

"Mr. Atemu?"

Yami nodded, and helped Yugi settle in the backseat, before making himself comfortable. Yugi was going crazy, playing with a button that made a screen separate them from the driver, and laughing as he moved it up and down.

"How did you-" he began to inquire.

"Mokuba. You didn't really think Kaiba would have agreed to this, do you?"

Yugi chuckled before letting go of the button, much to the relief of the driver. He laughed again, gently sliding his hand into Yami's, intertwining their fingers.

"He hit Joey in the face with a dodge ball yesterday…"

Yugi told the story, Yami laughing the entire time. They sat comfortably, their hands never leaving each other, and before they knew it, they had pulled up to the restaurant, a fancy place called _Nirvana._

They waited for the driver to open the door before stepping out and pulling on their black jackets, Yami racing up to open the restaurant door for Yugi. Yugi thanked him and the two entered the place, which being a Friday night, was full. Yami had already made reservations, so he and Yugi made their way over to the hostess, and stated their names. They were led to their table, which was further in the back so that they could have some privacy. They took off their coats, placing them on the backs of their seats and sat opposite of each other.

Things started off well enough; if you could call Yugi gawking at the prices of the entrees a good thing. Yami had to thoroughly convince him it was alright and that the price didn't matter until Yugi actually picked something. It was worth it though; for the dinner had been excellent, and both Yugi and Yami shared a fancy desert until they couldn't take another bite.

They both sat back, gazing into each other's eyes, warm smiles gracing their faces. Yugi gave a content sigh, and turned away from Yami for a moment, reaching into his jacket pocket before turning around and hiding his gift in his lap.

"I have something for you," he said. "I hope you like it."

Yugi bit his lip and smiled as he placed whatever it was on the table and sent it over to Yami.

Yami's eyes lit up. "It's a train ticket."

Yugi smiled, before chuckling and quickly mentioning, "I'm not sending you away! There's a tournament in Dylar on my birthday next month, and…I went ahead and registered you for it."

"Aibou…really?" he said, unable to contain the large grin that had spread on his face. As he processed Yugi's words however, his smile faltered a bit.

"Yugi…I'm grateful, so grateful…I've been wanting to enter another tournament so badly, but you said it takes place on your birthday and I'd want to be here with you…"

"I know," Yugi said before pulling the other something out of his lap and setting it on the table.

"Which is why I'm going too."

Yami looked up stunned for the second time that night.

"Really?"

"Really really," he said happily. "I've already paid for the hotel and everything; we're all set to go. And don't worry, Joey's throwing me a birthday party when we get back. I just, I wanted to take this trip with you. We need one."

"Yes, and we can duel again…"

"Uh, actually, I don't want to duel this time. For once, I just want to go and relax, and watch me some Duel Monsters. I want to be there cheering you on."

"They're going to try and persuade you otherwise, you know that, right? The King of Games at their tournament, and he's not going to duel…you know everyone wants that title shot…"

"I know, but like I said, I just want to relax, and besides, you've been doing really well yourself in the last couple of tournaments you've entered; you're making your own name for yourself, and I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you so much Yugi…I appreciate this so much…this is such an incredible gift! I really can't wait," he said as he gave Yugi a warm smile.

Yugi returned Yami's smile, before he saw the taller boy reach into his own jacket for a certain something.

"I've got something for you as well, my light."

Yugi blushed as Yami pulled out a long, thin, silver box, and gently pushed it towards him.

"Yami-"

"Open it," he said, watching Yugi intently, his hands folded under his chin.

Yugi pulled the top off of the box, and looked down before looking at Yami, his eyes wide and his lips parted.

"Oh Yami, it-it's beautiful," he whispered as he reached into the box, pulling out a gorgeous silver chain with a pendant of some symbol, which knowing Yami, was ancient Egyptian. He ran his fingers over the pendant; the word "Aibou" had been delicately etched into it.

Yugi could feel the tears beginning to form, and as he looked over to Yami's side of the table, he realized that he was no longer sitting there. He saw the chain being lifted up and the clasp undone, before Yami carefully slipped it around his neck and closed it. Yugi gently grasped the pendant around his neck, the tears flowly freely now.

"Your grandfather would have a stroke if he came back and you were wearing a ring, so for now I got you something that you can keep closer. Think of it as my promise, just as a necklace instead."

"Oh Yami...I'll never take it off," he whispered as he looked up at him.

Yami leaned down and captured Yugi's soft lips within his own, savoring the moment and never wanting to ever forget it.

* * *

"Yami! Oh shoot, we're gonna be soaked!!!" Yugi managed to say as uncontrollable laughter overtook him.

Yami couldn't help but laugh as he struggled to fit the key into the keyhole of the Game Shop; it was near pitch black outside and they had forgotten to leave the outside light on. The rain that Yugi had predicted earlier was now harshly pouring on them. Yugi looked up desperately, holding his coat over his head, (not that it was doing much good), and burst out laughing again as Yami fumbled with the wrong key.

"We're going to get this, I promise you, we're going to get this!" he reassured his light, laughing to himself until finally, the door was open and he quickly ushered Yugi inside before following and re-locking the door.

Yami shook off the water, then carefully checked to make sure that the tickets Yugi had gotten him were unharmed. They were a little wet, but they would make it. He looked up to see Yugi just standing there shivering, completely soaked; Yami had fared better than he had.

Yugi waited until Yami had stepped over next to him, before counting down…

"Three…two…one…GO!"

Both him and Yami raced upstairs, laughing, slightly pushing each other to gain an advantage, and ran into their own respective rooms, shedding their wet clothing and changing into pajamas.

The split second Yugi was covered in soft baby-blue pajamas with white stars all over them, he quickly ran downstairs, yelling, "YOU LOSE, YAMI!"

He made his way into the downstairs living room, panting heavily, only to see his Yami smugly lying across the couch, clad in black silk pajamas.

"Whaa-" Yugi frantically looked around before growling, which caused Yami to chuckle as he sat up.

"Now, since you lost, it's only fair that you receive a punishment…"

Yugi smirked. "Pshh, like you could punish me."

Yami stood up from the couch menacingly, and took a step towards Yugi, which he mirrored by stepping backwards.

"Y-Yami…why are you looking at me like that?"

Another step.

"No, please, Yami, no!" he said through the laughter threatening to consume him.

Yugi didn't last long before Yami had tackled him, as gently as he could, to the ground and began torturously tickling the boys sides. Yugi screamed, laughing so hard that tears fell, until Yami believed he had enough, and leaned down to kiss the spot directly under his eyes where the tears had pooled.

Yugi blushed, still panting, and slowly pulled on the collar of Yami's silk shirt, pulling him down until their lips met. The kiss started off gentle enough, but soon turned into something fierce and passionate; both boys only breaking apart when breath was required. This continued on for some time, and Yami's hand slipped underneath Yugi's pajama shirt, not going too far, just massaging the soft skin directly above the hem. When their heated kiss ended and they had to pull apart once more, Yami gained back a little self-control and made to pull himself up, knowing that that was the limit; as much as he wanted to, he wouldn't push Yugi any further. The former Pharaoh was shocked, however, when Yugi pulled him back down.

"Yugi?"

"Please, Yami…I want this…I, I want you," he whispered, looking straight into Yami's wide eyes.

"But aibou…you don't have to do this…I've told you before, I'm perfectly fine waiting until you're ready…"

"Well, about that..." Yugi said, biting his lip. "I've been thinking about it a lot, and Yami, I'm ready. I really am…"

Yami almost looked unsure, but as he gazed into those lovely amethyst eyes, he could tell that Yugi really meant it.

"But, but your grandfather…"

"Yami…my decision, remember? Please…I love you..."

He closed his eyes as his lips met Yami's once more; his hips gently rolling up to meet those of the boy above him. Yami groaned, and the last string of his self-control was cut. He immediately took charge, deepening the kiss, lightly pressing his body against Yugi's.

Yugi gasped at the kiss's intensity and muttered, "Bedroom…" before Yami plucked him off the floor, lips not leaving him for a second. Yugi wrapped his arms around his neck, and wound his legs around his waist as Yami carefully carried him up the steps. Yami silently praised God that the boy for once hadn't requested to go grab his infamous Kuriboh plushie for the night, and he wasn't even sure they had made it to his room until he noticed the gleam of the Millennium Puzzle on his desk from the moonlight. He gently set Yugi on his bed before climbing over him. Yami kissed him again; slowly removing Yugi's belted neck collar and tossing it to the floor before his lips traveled down to the boy's slender neck, where he trailed kisses all over; up and down, left and right. Yugi gave a soft moan when Yami's lips met an area where the jawbone meets the neck; a weak spot on his already sensitive skin.

Yami looked up and grinned, before attacking him in that spot again, causing Yugi to writhe beneath him. He soon removed the boy's fluffy pajama shirt, sending kisses everywhere, finally getting to run his hands along the soft skin, marveling at the look and feel of the beauty before him. He looked up at Yugi again, whose flushed face had broken out into a light sweat; both boys' breathing had picked up.

"Yugi?"

"Uh-huh?" he barely managed to get out.

"Yugi, if we continue, I might not be able to stop…are you, are you sure this is what you want?"

Yugi stared straight into Yami's passion-filled crimson eyes as the words left his lips.

"More than anything."

And that was all it took.

* * *

Yami collapsed next to Yugi, both panting their lungs out; Yugi's heavy eyelids drooping further with every second that passed. The boy finally gave up his fight to stay conscious, curling up on his side from exhaustion, but Yami remained awake, his dark eyes boring into the ceiling. He finally propped himself up on his elbow and pulled the covers over the still-trembling boy, eyeing the shiny silver necklace he had given him; the only thing Yugi had on. He averted his eyes to the wall in front of him; he couldn't look at Yugi anymore. Not now, at least. He gave a deep sigh, his eyes boring into nothing, his mind running a million miles an hour, the same awful two words flashing through his head. He shook them away, before turning away from Yugi and curling up on his side of the bed, eyes cold, unflinching in their stare at the next wall over.

Yami barely got any sleep that night.


	5. Know My Story

A/N: Haha, transitional chapters drive me nuts. I went back and forth on this one, much like I did for chapter 2, and changed things like five thousand times. It took forever before I even settled on something. At least I pretty much know where the next chapter is going, so hopefully that one will be easier to write, lol.

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved.

* * *

Yugi's eyes slowly blinked open, his long black eyelashes fluttering across delicate skin. For a moment he just laid there, staring directly at the wall in front of him; his mind rapidly piecing together the events of last night. He gave a wide smile as he tightened his hold on Yami's black comforter, and turned around to face his handsome lover. Only, Yami wasn't there. Yugi gave a small frown before sitting up in the bed, and looked around, listening for any signs that Yami was still in the building.

He couldn't hear anything other than the birds chirping outside, so he stood up, giving a slow hiss as a sharp pain snapped through his backside. His eyes clenched shut as he shakily held himself up, giving himself a few seconds to adjust. After about a minute he concluded that he wasn't really in the mood to pull clothes onto his aching body, so using Yami's dark blanket as a substitute, he wrapped it around his shoulders and clutched it tight before stepping out of the bedroom.

Yugi headed towards the stairs, but did a double take as he passed the open door to his room; Yami was just standing there, already showered and dressed, looking out the window, his back to him. Yugi smiled and stepped inside the room, making his way behind the taller boy, but Yami didn't turn around.

"Hey there," he said quietly, as he gently pushed his head to Yami's back.

He frowned again when he didn't receive a reply.

"Yami?" he asked, taking a step back, concern etched on his delicate features.

Yugi stood through torturous silence, until Yami's head turned a little to the left, his eyes downcast.

"You lied to me."

There it was. Yugi could feel the tears already threatening to fall down his face. He knew this was coming, and yet…he couldn't find any words. He just stood there, head down, gaze to the floor, as Yami finally turned to face him; struggling through his own words.

"Yugi, you've already…you've already given yourself to another."

Yugi violently shook his head, tears cascading down his face. The action caused Yami to bitterly raise his voice.

"Don't feed me another lie Yugi, I could feel it! I felt it when we-" he trailed off, angrily putting a hand up to grasp his aching forehead. "I'm not new to this. When I was Pharoah I was indeed quite promiscuous. While that's not something I'm necessarily proud of, I do know what a virgin feels like. And this entire time, you've claimed to me that you were innocent. I want, no, I _need_ to know _why_. Yugi, why would you keep something like that from me…" His mind was already procuring possible answers; the answers he feared most, the answers that haunted his thoughts last night...

Yugi stood, his lips quivering, wanting nothing more than to pour his heart out to his love and leave no more secrets behind, but as he looked into Yami's demanding eyes, the only thing that escaped his lips was a desperate, pathetic sob.

"Yami, I'm so sorry, I can't, I just, I-I can't…."

And to Yugi's shock, Yami broke down into tears, crying heavily into the hand on his head. The action caused Yugi to immediately take a step forward and reach out to him. The small boy had never seen Yami cry. Never. Tea and the others had told him that it was indeed possible however, seeing as how he was often in tears when he chose darkness for that one moment and stupidly gave Yugi up to Dartz and the Orichalcos. Yami didn't move, which only caused Yugi to sob harder.

"Yami, please, please don't…" he begged through his own tears.

"Who is it, Yugi?" he managed.

Yugi stared at him with wide eyes, disbelief and confusion written all over his face.

"What?"

"Who is it?" he firmly repeated, desperately trying to control the tears that fell.

What are you saying?" he whispered, desperately hoping that Yami wasn't thinking _that_…

"God! Is it Joey?" Yami practically yelled out of frustration.

The comment made Yugi's wide eyes narrow sharply and his mouth drop; his face contorted in anger as he took a slow step backwards.

"I can't believe this. How dare you…" he seethed, angry tears coursing. "How dare you!" he screamed.

He angrily straightened himself as he glared straight into crimson eyes.

"I hate you if you think that, I hate you!" he barely managed to choke out as a sob escaped him once more, the realization of what he just said quickly getting to him.

"Yugi, what am I supposed to think?" Yami barked, breaking out of his stupor at the previous exclamation. "I don't know if it's someone else, I don't know if someone hurt you, I don't know, I don't know! I don't know what is going on, but whatever it is, you obviously don't trust me enough to tell me. I love you Yugi...I have faith in you and I trust you more than you know...I thought you felt the same...Maybe, maybe this is all just a game to you...but let me tell you something Yugi, it isn't to me."

Yami stormed out of the room and out of sight, leaving Yugi to sink to the floor, his sobs intensifying, wanting to run after his lover, but finding himself unable to even move.

* * *

Yami didn't know exactly where his feet where taking him; his mind was so wound up, and his tears refused to dry. He was truly hurt, and not at all by the fact that Yugi wasn't a virgin at the time they had sex, he loved Yugi and honestly could have cared less; it was the fact that Yugi had lied to him, and for so long. His Yugi: the one whom he had given his long guarded heart and soul to. His love; the one he himself trusted beyond belief. His everything...

He always took pride in the fact that Yugi shared everything with him, and to find that it was not true...

It was a hard hit to his heart.

_He lied. He lied. He lied._

The hateful words that had embedded themselves on the walls of his mind.

And since Yugi had deliberately kept the truth from him, it raised all sorts of horrible suspicions within him; things that always seemed so ridiculous suddenly seemed to be at a high level of possibility. Like the first person to pop in his mind. Joey. Like the two hiding behind Yami's back.

Now that was stupid, the two might as well have been born brothers and deep down Yami knew it, but despite how much he tried, he couldn't shake off a few of the many scenarios that ran through his head the previous night: Yugi and Joey's lips passionately locked...

One of the school bullies forcing Yugi to the floor…

He had an insane urge to hit somebody. Yet Yugi had revealed nothing, and therefore he couldn't go about striking possibly innocent people. How could he protect Yugi if the boy wouldn't let him in?

He sighed, wiping his frustrated tears away and turned into the empty park, making his way over to a particularly large tree before plopping himself down in front of it and leaning his back against the rough bark. The sun was glaring down at him, but the shade of the tree eased its harsh rays. He closed his eyes, a gentle breeze hitting his face.

An hour passed. Being a Saturday, children began flocking to the playground. People were running, couples were walking, dogs were barking. And there he was; still sitting by the tree. Another hour. He just sat, barely moving, blankly watching everyone who passed by. No one had bothered him, and given the chance, he might have stayed there thinking until the sun rose the next day. Finally, a small blond, green-eyed boy cautiously approached him, and Yami's eyes finally reached focus. He stared at the child who was looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Um, excuse me, Mr.," he started as he took another step forward. "Are you okay? You look kinda sad..."

Yami blinked, before shaking his head.

"Oh, err, I'm fine. Just had a rough morning."

"Oh."

Yami blinked again as the boy plopped himself right down next to him. He noticed that the child looked to be about six or seven. Yami uncomfortably shifted as he turned his gaze to the park, eyeing for adults.

"You know, your parents will be angry if they see you talking to a stranger..."

The boy laughed and shook his head.

"I'm here with my big sister. She's walking around somewhere with her boyfriend."

"She shouldn't leave you unattended."

The boy gave him a blank look.

"By yourself. You should tell your parents."

The blond boy shrugged. "It's the only way I can come to the park. My parents are always busy; they never have time to take me. Besides, my sister's annoying around her boyfriend, and there's always other kids here to play with. Except for them, those guys just pick on me. They won't let any of us get up there." He pointed over to a group of kids, nine to ten-year-old's, that swarmed the jungle gym.

Yami grunted, giving a nod of understading. Bullying was something Yami didn't take lightly, seeing as how Yugi was often picked on at school just for his small size and gentle disposition.

He swiftly stood up, and held out his hand to the boy on the floor, helping him up. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Christopher."

"Well, come on, Christopher," he said as he beckoned the boy to take his hand again and the two walked over to the jungle gym.

The small boy shied behind Yami as they stepped closer to the older kids.

"Excuse me," Yami called, causing the other boys to turn around. "You boys need to be fair and share with the rest of the kids. This isn't your, er, tower...thing. They need to have a chance to play, too."

A couple of them raised an eyebrow at him, other's glanced at the small boy clutching Yami's hand for dear life, and one gasped.

"Holy crap! Guys, that's Yami Atemu! That's the guy who won that one Duel Monster's tournament back in January!"

The other boys gasped and immediately warmed up, throwing out questions left and right.

"Have you ever dueled Seto Kaiba? He's so cool!"

"You've won like four tournaments so far right?"

"Have many cards do you have?"

"Got any rare ones?"

"Are you going to challenge Yugi Muto? He's like the King of Games right now!"

"I always thought you kinda looked like him..."

"If you duel Yugi, he'll kick your ass. That kid is _good_."

Yami couldn't help but chuckle at the questions, and how close they hit to home. At the other's excited voices, Christopher stepped out of hiding behind Yami's back, and looked up at them. Yami gazed down at him, then returned his eyes to the bullies.

"Listen, I've heard that you guys have been picking on the younger kids. You need to play fair. That's one of the most important rules in Duel Monsters, and it's an important life lesson in itself." Many of the boys' faces fell in embarrasment, and Christopher smiled.

The leader of the group, a brunette wearing a baseball cap finally looked up and reached his hand out to Yami, who shook it. "Hey man, you got it. But how bout showing us a bit of tips sometime? We're not that good; I thought my deck kicked ass, but hah, no."

"Do you have them on you? I could give you a few pointers."

"Damn! We had a mini tournament at my house last night. They're over there, but I live real close. Can you stick around for like fifteen more minutes?"

Yami shrugged. "That'd be fine."

"Cool." All of the eight boys raced off of the jungle gym, following the leader to go get their cards.

Christopher beamed up at Yami, and Yami motioned for him to climb up to the top of the playground. When the other little kids surrounding the area saw that he was up there instead of the bullies, they clambered up as well. Christopher helped up a little girl with black pigtails, and soon the youngsters were immersed in an intense game, each believing they were all pirates.

Yami smiled and walked away, stopping as Christopher called to him, yelling a big thanks. He turned, giving a thumbs up and made his way over to the panting kids, who had all lined up; each listening eagerly as Yami viewed each Duel Monsters deck and made comments and suggestions.

* * *

Six hours had passed, and Yami still wasn't back. Yugi had evenutally moved from his curled position on the floor and showered; he had cried so much that a horrible migraine was now upon him.

After carefully dressing he made his way down to the game shop, which his grandpa had decided against opening in his absence. He sat atop the stool behind the counter, slightly swiveling, eyeing the phone as the intensity of his headache caused silent tears to return. He finally made up his mind, and stepped over to the phone on the wall, before taking it off the receiver and putting it to his ear. He slowly dialed the number and waited as it rang.

"Hello?" came the other voice on the phone.

"Joey?" Yugi said as his voice cracked and a new rush of tears pricked his eyes.

"Yug? Yug is that you? What's the matter!?"

"Joey please, I need to talk to someone…I don't know what to do…" He sobbed into the phone despite how hard he was trying to hold his cries back.

"Yugi, listen to me. Don't move. I'll be right there."

Yugi hung up, before purposely hitting his head on the wall, frustrated for being unable to hold back his tears. He returned to the counter, and laid his head down on it, looking so lost, so dead…

A hard knock at the door came fifteen minutes later. Yugi jumped at the sound before reluctantly getting up and opening the door. Joey stood there, his eyes wide with concern. Yugi stood for a few seconds, but found he just couldn't say hello and against his intentions, ran straight into Joey's arms, clutching his shirt, crying hard.

Joey instinctively wrapped his arms around the shaking boy.

"Yug what happened!?"

"Y…a…mi…"

"Shit…Did he hurt you!?!" he demanded, grasping Yugi's shoulders and pulling him away so he could look straight into Yugi's red, swollen eyes.

Yugi quickly shook his head.

"No. I hurt _him_."

Joey looked at him, confusion and slight fear etched on his face.

"Yugi?"

"He knows Joey. But then he _doesn't_ know…God!" he yelled out of frustration. "I'm so stupid. We finally have sex, and it just turns out to be a big mistake…I should have told him the truth from the beginning! I'm so filthy Joey, I don't deserve him."

Joey shook him roughly.

"STOP IT. Okay, just stop it. Yugi, you are not filty. You didn't ask for any of that shit to happen to you. It was their fault. Not yours."

"And now he thinks I've been cheating on him...that I'm hiding something because I can't tell him. What if he doesn't come back? I love him Joey. I love him so much. I can't lose him."

"Shh…" Joey whispered, as he rubbed Yugi's back. "He loves you Yugi. Don't worry, he'll be back."

The two eventually broke apart and the blond was finally allowed to step inside. Joey helped Yugi pass the time; they talked about everything and nothing, Joey desperately trying to make Yugi laugh, and failing miserably. As the hours ticked away however, Yugi grew more and more anxious, constantly glancing at the front door in the hopes that he'd see Yami walking through it. The two eventually migrated to the living room behind the kitchen and sat on the couch, Yugi's knees to his chest as he stared blankly at the television that Joey had turned on.

"Holy cow…" Joey said, which caused Yugi to actually pay attention to what was on the screen.

"Turn it up!" Yugi said as Joey grabbed the remote.

Both Joey and Yugi watched in horror as the reporter stated that the local museum they had regularly visited in their past journey had suspiciously combusted, killing all inside, and destroying most of the ancient artifacts. Yugi sharply turned to the clock on the wall which read at about half past ten. Yami had been gone all day…

Joey looked over to the small boy just as Yugi's eyes went wide, an unreadable blankness in them. He gasped when Yugi unexpectedly jumped up from his position on the couch and ran fast from the living room.

"Yugi! Yugi, wait!"

He followed Yugi until he caught a glimpse of him, already halfway out the front door. Joey ran after him and met Yugi outside, who was sharply turning left and right, contemplating which direction to take.

"Yug!"

"Look Joey, I've got to find him! I have to make sure he's okay! You know Yami loves that place!"

"Yug, are you crazy!? You're not going out there at this time of night! You do, and you're just asking for trouble! Besides, all Yami's stuff is in Egypt now, remember? He doesn't really have much reason to go there anymore!"

Joey sighed as he watched Yugi's unflinching worried eyes.

"Let _me _go look, Yugi. You stay, and if he comes back here, you call-"

Yugi took off.

"Shit." Joey muttered, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up with him. Yugi was small, but boy was he fast when he was worked up. Instinctively, he reached for his cell and dialed a number.

"Yo!" the voice at the other end answered.

"Tristan, we got a problem…"

* * *

Yugi ran. Faster than he ever had before. Faster than when the bullies chased him. He just ran, not exactly knowing where he was going to end up. He yelled Yami's name throughout the streets, not caring at all if he was disturbing anyone. His feet slammed hard against the pavement with each step, his heavy breathing the only sound audible. He ran for about an hour, making it to the museum and finally realizing that he could get nowhere near the burnt building; it was entirely closed off. He thought about asking one of the many cops that surrounded the area about Yami, but quickly thought against it; they wouldn't be able to release any names of the casualties yet, and it was past the legal curfew. If he were caught it would only delay his search. He turned and ran into a nearby alleyway, ducking behind a dumpster as the lights of a cop car flashed and made its way down the street.

After the car passed and he was clear, he thought of Yami again, taking deep breaths, trying to think rationally. Joey was probably right. There was little chance Yami was in there when it happened, but even the chances didn't help the horrible knot growing in his stomach. He tried to think if Yami would have gone somewhere to talk to someone, but couldn't think of anyone Yami would _want_ to talk to in his state. He snorted as Tea popped into his mind. Yeah, like he would ever go over there. Yami had once told Yugi that he could barely even tolerate Tea. Maybe Tristan's? But then Yami was never really much of a talker. He preferred to battle his demons alone. Against his wishes, he finally concluded that the best move would be to return back to the Game Shop. He reached into a pouch attached to his belt, hoping to pull out his cell phone to call Joey for any news, but gave a frustrated groan as he saw it was empty.

His phone was idiotically lying somewhere around his house, completely useless to him now. He pulled himself up from his crouched position, and sneakily left the alley, walking quickly. He made it out undetected and ran again, his legs aching from the previous exertion. He silenty prayed that Joey had heard from Yami.

* * *

Yami sprinted, quickly making his was back to the Game Shop. He had a long day, finally deciding to go the pier after the events at the park. When he got there, he just silently stood and watched, fascinated at how beautiful the waves looked as the sky greyed, and how they gently crashed beneath the wooden structure. As he thought long and hard about the situation, he decided that he had indeed jumped the gun and acted quite foolishly. He was hurt, yes, but he concluded that in the end he loved Yugi, more than the boy could ever even know, and that whatever the problem was, however terrible it might be, they would get through it together. He only hoped that Yugi would forgive his petulant behavior, and open up to him.

He gave an almost content smile as he saw the Game Shop up ahead. His smile faded though as he saw a small panicked shadow hurriedly banging on the front door. Yami quickly ran up behind the gasping figure and reached out, gently touching his arm. The figure quickly spun around, eyes wide in terror, and froze against the door, shudders racking his body.

"Yugi?

Yugi's breathing almost stopped as he looked into Yami's concerned eyes. He immediately flung himself into Yami, wrapping his arms around his waist, shaking heavily. Yami wrapped his arms around his love, lightly rubbing his back, trying to calm him down.

"Yugi, what happened?"

"I was, I was looking for you...t-there was this guy, and he, he wouldn't leave me alone, he wouldn't stop f-following me. I got scared…I-I ran…" he managed as Yami immediately scanned the area with narrowed eyes. They just stood like that for a while, until Yugi's shaking subsided a little and he gave a small sigh before tightening his hold on Yami. "I was so worried about you…I'm glad you're okay. Listen Yami, I want to tell you everything…I _need_ to tell you everything…"

"Aibou, let's just get you inside."

Yugi weakly nodded, before Yami, making sure that the two were now safe, reached to pull his key out of his pocket, and quickly unlocked the door, lightly pushing Yugi ahead.

Yugi yelped as Joey and Tristan yelled and came running from the kitchen, Tristan armed with two pans and Joey wielding a baseball bat. Yami immediately stepped in front of Yugi, shielding him, causing the two boys to realize that it was them and give a deep sigh of relief. They dropped their weapons and rushed to Yugi; Joey grasping his shoulders and shaking him roughly.

"Yug, do you have any idea how worried we've been about ya?!?! We were just about to call your Grandpa so he could get back on over here. Yugi, don't you ever do that again! When I say don't go, DON'T GO!"

"Seriously man. We went nuts looking for you and Yami! And some crazy prostitute hit on Joey big time. He was convinced she was out to get him because he turned her down. Was that you banging on the door? Joey almost crapped his pants."

"GAH! Shuddup!! You were scared too!"

Yugi couldn't help but laugh, and he was more than thankful for the release.

The others smiled, before turning their eyes to Yami, who had subconsciously narrowed his eyes a bit when he caught Joey's.

"Found him," Yugi said with a smile. "Or actually, he found me. Thank you two so much for everything, really, but the two of us, well, we need to talk now."

Both Tristan and Joey nodded in understanding before saying goodbye. Tristan gave Joey a ride home on his motorcycle. Joey screamed his lungs out the entire time.

Yugi waited until the front door was shut and locked, before turning around and facing Yami who was just standing, eyeing him as if he hadn't seen him in years.

"Yami, I was so worried about you…you know that the Museum burned down?"

Yami's eyes shot open. "What!?"

"Yeah, it was really weird. It just like, blew up! I thought that maybe you might have been in there, and…" his gaze traveled to the floor. "I freaked."

Yami went over to him, lifting his chin so that their eyes met.

"Yugi, I acted like such a fool. I'm sorry. I just don't want there to be secrets between us. I love you no matter what Yugi; I want you to know that nothing you tell me will change that. Nothing could ever possibly change that."

Yugi gave him a warm smile, his eyes watering.

"I know. I love you too, so much...I just, I got scared. I had to know if this would change things. It was wrong, and it was wrong for me to even try to test you like that...to test myself...I had intended to tell you everything this morning, but again, I freaked. But now I'm ready, Yami. I want you to know my story," he firmly stated.

Yami nodded.

"Yeah, but we might want to sit down. This might take awhile."

The two ended up going upstairs to Yami's room, the place where Yugi felt most comfortable. Yugi took a seat on the bed, pulling his knees to his chest while Yami sat at the foot of it, wanting to give Yugi space. Yugi took a deep breath, before turning to look at Yami and releasing it slowly.

"Now that we're here, I just want to let it out. This might seem to come out of nowhere, but I just need to say it. I don't want you thinking other things. I want you to know the truth."

Yami nodded again, and Yugi took another breath, releasing it before speaking quickly. "Okay, I know you're going to freak out, but please don't talk. Just, just listen. Can you, can you do that? Can you do that for me?"

Yami brow furrowed a bit, before nodding again, not exactly sure when he was supposed to shut his mouth.

"Okay…" Yugi quickly averted his gaze down to the floor, knowing that if he looked into Yami's concerned eyes he would just be stuttering the whole way through.

"Yami, I, I was raped."

Yami's eyes flew wide and for a few seconds he sat stunned at the confirmation. He had definitely thought of that as an option, but to hear those awful words come from Yugi's mouth...it made an irate frenzy bubble up within him, and he immediately made a move to get up. Yugi sensed the predicted anger flare up on his dark's face, and he immediately reached out to Yami, gently grasping his arm and shaking his head.

"Just listen," he whispered as Yami slowly and hesitantly returned to his original position.

"It was my father. I was sexually abused by my own father."

Yami froze, and answers to old questions hit him smack dab in the face. Why Yugi and Solomon never talked about his parents. Why Yugi froze up everytime he was asked about them.

"Both my parents were alcoholics and into hard drugs. The only reason they even had me is because they saw that there were many families out there who would pay a great deal of money for a baby, since they couldn't have one on their own. They were going to use me to keep their fix coming..."

Yami stared into Yugi's deep eyes, noticing that Yugi's face was suprisingly calm and collected…

"Well, word got out about them, and soon nobody wanted a baby that could possibly be defective because of what his mom was on during pregnancy. And that wasn't what they wanted to hear. They couldn't just get rid of me either, because Grandpa knew about me. He was there when I was born, even though they had told him it was bad timing and that they would be giving me up. When if backfired, they had no choice but to "raise" me. And my parents were such good actors. Grandpa never saw anything until it was too late, and it hurts me to see how much that kills him. He thinks it was all his fault, that if he hadn't been so gullible, that if he hadn't had such faith in his daughter, he would have noticed that my arms and legs were bruised far over what they should be for any "soccer" game. My father started hitting me when I was around six, but honestly, I was already dead inside. Neglect kills a child. It kills them."

"Yugi-"

"And his beatings got worse and worse every time, and later he started adding something else...The first time he touched me, my mom was in the room. And she just stood there…_stood there_…she didn't do anything, she just…watched, watched as he fuckin ripped me apart..."

Yugi groaned and put his face in his hands and Yami immediately moved next to him, tightly wrapping his arms around him. When Yugi finally looked up, Yami noticed there were no tears; hardly any expression was present on Yugi's face, and it gave Yami an odd feeling of uneasiness. Yugi was such an expressive person. To see him so intent on blocking out any sort of emotion...it just didn't feel right.

"She overdosed two months later. She left me with that, that _monster_. I swear, I could feel death coming whenever he attacked me after she died, but I was always brought back, back to reality. Anyway, Grandpa came to visit one day, and the front door was unlocked, so he just let himself in. I-" Yugi's voice slightly cracked, and he took another deep breath to calm himself.

"I was screaming. He heard me and ran upstairs, bursting through the door to my father's bedroom with one of our kitchen knives in his hand…" He slightly began to shake.

"He had me, he had me on the bed; it never mattered how many times he did it, it always hurt…"

Yami began to shake as well.

"I remember Grandpa started screaming and he threw him off of me." Yugi's eyes closed in recollection. "I was terrified, I-I thought he was going to kill Grandpa, but Grandpa got him, he stabbed him in the stomach, and got me out of there as fast as he could. I was hoping he had killed him, but no, the bastard's still alive. Grandpa reported everything though, and they got him. He's now facing life in prison, and I haven't seen him since. And…"

Yugi's eyes opened and he turned his head to focus on Yami's.

"Yugi…you have a strength in you like no other...after everything that man, that _devil_…did to you..."

Yugi sighed and shrugged. "It happened years ago. I was in therapy for a long time, but eventually that fizzled out; they couldn't get me to talk about it. I chose to just block it out instead. That works for me, it's how I cope. The only thing I've kept from the therapy sessions is the woman's suggestion of writing in a diary. It clears my thoughts."

"But Yugi, if you don't take the time to get through this, you'll never really get over it…what if it, what if it comes back to hit you one day, and-"

Yugi shrugged. "Yami, I'm happy with my method, and that's that."

Yami slowly nodded, before his gaze traveled to his hands.

"Yugi, last night, I-"

"No!" Yugi exclaimed as he stood up and faced Yami. "No, okay? It's not your fault! I should have said something, but then, if I would have told you, you would have felt wrong, and I didn't want that. Yami, I love you, and I never want you feel like you're forcing yourself on me. I wanted every bit of last night. You're not him Yami. You love me, and that makes all the difference."

Yami could feel hot tears falling down his face, and the second Yugi saw him cry he burst into tears and wrapped his arms around the neck of the sitting boy. Yami pulled him into his lap, kissing the side of the boy's head as he cried into his chest.

"I love you. No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise. I'll always be right here to protect you."

He gently rocked the small boy a bit, before giving a slight grin.

"I guess I owe Joey an apology...I gave him a nasty glare before he left. I'll just tell him it was because he ran at you with a baseball bat."

He smiled as Yugi suddenly laughed into his chest.


	6. Dylar

A/N: For some reason, when I edit my chapters here, some of my words keep getting mushed together. It's highly frustrating. So if you see that, it's most likely due to the fact that I couldn't fix it. There's only one exception later in this chapter, haha. XD Lol, I don't have much else to say, so here's chapter six!

WARNING: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved.

* * *

Yugi's birthday came about five weeks later. School had let out for the summer, and things were back on track between him and Yami; their relationship continued to grow stronger with every single day that passed. He was seventeen today, and he had made sure to double-check his plans the night before; they would be leaving for Dylar in a few hours, and Yami would soon be competing in the tournament there. Yugi wanted everything to start off absolutely perfect. He had made _sure_ that perfection was to follow their every step today…

'_So,'_ he thought bitterly. _'Why am I sitting here with the flippin toilet?'_

Yugi heaved again, shakily clutching the sides of it, as he lowered his head and released more of the contents of his stomach into the bowl.

Yami awoke around five thirty in the morning when Yugi whimpered and hurriedly tore out of the room, his small hands tightly clasped over his mouth. The former Pharoah immediately followed him and now sat on the raised edge of the shower, eyes full of concern as he soothingly rubbed Yugi's back. The boy had told Yami not to awaken his grandfather, that it'd be over in a little while and Yami figured the only thing he really could do was wait with Yugi as he rode it out.

Yugi pulled himself up again and slowly leaned back against Yami's legs, closing his eyes and groaning as he felt his strength leave him.

"I haven't thrown up in years," he quietly said. "It's so…blech."

"Yugi, if you're not feeling well, we can always cancel. They'll be other tournaments…"

Yugi quickly turned and dizzily looked up at Yami.

"No! We're going, trust me, it's noth-" He sharply turned around as he felt yet another wave of nausea overcome him and he vomited into the toilet once more. He pulled himself up a final time and whimpered again as he slowly laid his arms on the seat and placed his head on them.

"Besides...I already feel better. See? Just had to, just had to…let it out…" Yugi whispered as his eyelids fluttered closed and he dozed off. Yami thoroughly cleaned him up before carrying him back to his bed; pulling the dark covers over the small shivering frame. He then went downstairs to get a bucket in case he had another attack and got back into bed with his Yugi, whose cheeks were flushed from the prior exertion. He tenderly ran his hand through the small boy's hair, brushing his golden bangs out of his face, then continued to repeat the action, loving the feel of Yugi's soft hair as it traveled through his fingers. He soon dozed off himself, and awoke a few hours later, at eleven o'clock.

Yugi was showered, dressed, and practically bouncing around, excitement radiating off of him like no tomorrow. The earlier event seemed to have wiped itself clean from his mind.

"Come on, come on, come on, we'vegotta be at the station at twelve thirty! You've got to hurry uuuuuuuuuup!"

Yami chuckled as Yugi continued to check in on him that morning, asking if he was ready, until Solomon finally pulled him away and into conversation. Yugi came back into Yami's dark room half an hour later, his eyes shining brilliantly, brimming with tears.

"Aibou…"

"He's giving me the Game Shop. Yeah! He wants me to practice running it this year, so that when I'm eighteen he can step back, and leave it in my name, to do whatever I want with it. Can you believe it? Oh Yami, I've always wanted the shop!"

Yami widely smiled as he fiercly pulled his hikari into a warm embrace, gazing down into bright violet eyes.

"Congratulations, Yugi. I'm happy for you. Well now that you're receiving gifts I might as well give you mine. It's downstairs in the living room."

Yugi stared at him, eyes wide.

"Yami, you didn't have to, you've already done enough…"

"It's done. Now go on, I must finish packing."

Yugi slowly stepped away from him before being unable to control himself and tearing his way downstairs.

Yami chuckled as a loud scream came from the lower level fifteen seconds later.

"YOU GOT ME A WII!?!?!"

Fifteen seconds later, Yugi was at his door again, panting heavily, leaning on his knees for support.

"I can't...believe…you…"

"Hmm?"

"Shouldn't…have…Oh, I…I love you," he said before jumping at Yami and kissing him fiercely. Yami returned the kiss just as eagerly, his lip turned in a slight smile at Yugi's enthusiasm of the gift. He took notice of how Yugi eyed the game console longingly every time they passed another game shop, and using some leftover prize money from the previous tournament he won, gladly purchased it. Solomon focused mainly on Duel Monsters cards in his own shop, carrying only a few other older games. If the shop ended up coming into Yugi's possession, the small boy would be changing that. Yugi envisioned a shop with all sorts of different kinds of games, old and new, games he knew very well, and games he definitely wanted to learn more about.

"Oh I can't wait to play it when we come back. Thank you Yami, thank you, thank you, thank you…now I can kick Joey's butt at my own house!"

"Haha, you're very welcome, aibou," he said before giving Yugi a gentle kiss and breaking away. "We should get going if we want to make it on time."

Yugi blinked and looked up, a wide smile on his face.

"Right!" he said happily as he jumped off of Yami.

They grabbed their bags, and headed downstairs, Yugi kissing Solomon's cheek as he left with Yami out the door and into the cab.

The train ride had lasted approximately two hours, and both Yugi and Yami were thoroughly relieved when it was over. They eagerly stretched, only to have to sit once again in another cab for about half an hour. Yugi was happily looking out a window, his large violet eyes flashing with excitement at they passed several large, unfamiliar buildings. He turned back to look at Yami and smiled; Yami gave a warm smile back and continued to watch his aibou.

They finally came to a complete stop, and were dropped off in front of a large hotel. Their bags were courteously taken upstairs for them, after a slight struggle and verbal battle from Yami, who at first thought he was being mugged. They checked in and made their way up to fourth floor, Yugi laughing at Yami the entire time. He ran the card key through the slot and opened the door to their room, which was quite spacious. A large king sized bed covered the middle of the floor, and the rest of the room was adorned with desks, dressers, and chairs. Nothing was overly fancy, just the way Yugi liked it. The two made their way inside, passing the medium-sized bathroom to their left.

Yugi stretched his arms out and walked over to the window, pulling away the curtains and opening the blinds to look outside. Yami crept up behind him, wrapping his arms around the lithe boy's waist, and laying his head on his shoulder as the two watched the various cars zoom around outside. Yugi laughed as Yami eventually grasped his thin, limp arms and started playfully flailing them around.

"Hello," Yami spoke, raising his deep voice an octave higher. "My name is Yugi Muto."

Yugi laughed harder as he was forced to make ridiculous gestures to the world outside the window.

"Today is my birthday, and I should get to go wherever I want, and do whatever I want. You down there! Yes, you! Did you hear that?"

Yugi was forced to point down at some random person walking along the street, and burst out laughing, breaking free of Yami's grasp and turning to face him. Yami laughed and gave him a smug smile, completely captured by those light, innocent eyes.

"So where would you like to go? We've got a few hours until dinner. And no complaining about prices this time, understand?"

Yugi blushed a little and put his hand up to his chin, eyes down in thought as he contemplated what they should do.

"Well, I don't really know much about Dylar. Let's just go walk around, we're bound to find something."

The rest of the day had been fairly eventful; they came back several hours later with tons of silly souvenirs and were completely exhausted from their escapades. Both quickly slipped into pajamas, before eventually Yami closed the curtains and sat at the desk to prepare his deck for the tournament the next day. Yugi laid quietly on the bed, the covers pulled up to his shoulders as he watched Yami work away at the desk, watching in admiration and tracing his eyes over every feature on his dark's handsome face. A thought occured to him, and he got up, traveling over to his bag and pulling out his diary. He carried it back to the bed, and began scribbling away. Yami looked at him curiously, and Yugi only smiled and shrugged. Both were completely occupied, and it was past midnight when Yami finally leaned back in his chair and turned to Yugi, smiling at the boy before him. Yugi had since then put the diary away and was just laying there, his eyes focused on the Egyptian.

"I love you Yami…You're going to do great tomorrow, I know it."

Yami smiled and got up, making his way over to the bed and laid next to him, turning Yugi around to face him.

"I will with you there," he said softly before tenderly kissing Yugi.

When the two broke apart, Yugi snuggled close to Yami, delicately laying his head on his chest. Yami could only smile as he reached down to pull the covers over them both, and the two drifted off...

Yami's sharp eyes snapped open, and he immediately gave a sigh of relief as his rightful world slowly came back into view. He hadn't gotten as good a night's sleep as he had hoped; he dreamt that he had made a completely different decision during the Ceremonial Battle and that he was back in his own time, surrounded by his friends and family, but completely alone on the inside, fully severed from his pure companion.

He roughly shook his head, and turned to the very reason he just couldn't go through that door; the one person he had realized he never wanted to ever leave.

He wasn't there.

Yami immediately shot up and frantically looked around, but couldn't see him anywhere. He rose from the bed, and suddenly noticed that the bathroom door was closed. He gave a small sigh of relief and a tiny hint of red spread over his cheeks; he had gotten all worked up over nothing. He made his way to the door and called Yugi's name just to be on the safe side, and his smile drooped when he didn't receive a reply. He knocked on the door a few times. Nothing.

His hand immediately flew to the door handle and he turned it, scowling angrily as it refused to budge; the door was locked. He called Yugi's name once more, waiting for a sound, any sound, before backing up a bit and prepping to ram his side into the door at full speed. He took a deep breath, and sprinted at the door, which to Yami's terror, slowly opened, revealing the small boy sleepily rubbing his half-lidded eyes. Yugi'seyes flew wide in shock a second after Yami's did, and Yami quicky tried to stop himself, but being so close and going at such a speed, roughly collided with Yugi and took him down with him. Yami immediately turned himself mid-air, and cried out as his back took most of the fall against the cold, hard tile so that Yugi would not be utterly harmed. After the intial shock, Yugi hurriedly rolled off of him, and got to his knees, watching Yami with wide, concerned eyes.

"Yami, what were you-"

"Are you alright, aibou?" Yami said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," he breathed. "But are, are you? You're not hurt are you? Just stay down, don't move. Does it hurt? Yami-"

Yami gave a small smirk as he cupped Yugi's face with his hand, and Yugi went silent.

"I'm fine."

Yugi looked at him suspiciously, so he changed the subject.

"Where you sleeping in the bathroom?"

"Oh," Yugi looked down, trying to keep his face as nonchalant as possible, but when he spoke again, his words became unconvincingly rushed. "Um, I just threw up again, it's no big deal, I-"

"Yugi! Alright, that's it. We are canceling, and I taking you to a hospital right now. You're sick, you need medical attention."

"I do not!" Yugi angrily exclaimed. "It's a stupid bug going around. I said it'll pass, and it'll pass, trust me. I don't want us to miss this tournament. I worked so hard to put everything together..."

Yami stood firmly as Yugi looked pleadingly into his crimson eyes. "Please Yami, please...I'll be fine. If I start feeling sick again, I'll come back to the room and rest okay? Just please..."

The former Pharoah sighed as he eventually cast his eyes away from Yugi. No one in this world and especially ancient Egypt had any sort of power over him at all, and yet, the one small, innocent boy sitting before him had much more of an influence on him then he'd ever know. It drove him crazy sometimes.

"Fine, fine. But you start feeling anything," he warned, "and you tell me, understand?"

Yugi smiled and nooded. "Thanks, Yami."

Yami only turned around as he and Yugi left the bathroom and proceeded to get ready for the tournament.

* * *

They were met with two very different men when they approached the large stadium; one a short, chubby, balding man, and the other; who seemed to be his complete opposite. The man was young, tall, and fairly built, with blond hair, and deep brown eyes.

The short one immediately stepped up to Yugi, and took his hand; shaking it almost harshly.

"Mr. Muto! What a pleasure it is to haveyou at our tournament! I hope your stay in Dylar so far has been pleasant! We've-"

Yugi couldn't suppress the small whimper that left his lips; the man was still shaking his hand, so enthusiastically that his grip soon turned painful.

The stubby man caught it, and quickly released him, his face flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry! Guess I don't know my own strength..."

The blond man stepped forward and began introductions.

"My name is Cain Carmichael, and this is Dom Burman. We're the tournament coordinators. Now Mr. Muto-"

Yugi blushed. "Just Yugi, please."

Cain smiled. "_Yugi_, we've heard that you've decided against competing today...any chance you've changed your mind?"

Yugi slowly shook his head, eyes low in apology.

"I'm here to support Yami," he said, as he nodded over to the taller boy next to him.

"Of course, Yami Atemu! We've been watching you."

Yami raised an eyebrow and instinctively narrowed his eyes, causing the others to laugh heartily.

"As a duelist, of course! You've definitely got talent. It'll be an honor to watch you compete," Cain said. Yami's features relaxed, but tensed again as Cain looked from Yugi to Yami, and back again.

"You two brothers or something? I swear, you look almost exactly alike..."

Yugi went completely red, and his mouth opened in protest, but the only thing he got out was a shaky, "N-"

"We're not related. We come from completely different families."

"Oh, then how do you know-"

"We're just close friends," Yami confidently stated.

Yugi looked over at him, relief washed all over his flushed face, and Yami smirked as the two prying men nodded. Their relationship was safe and out of the press, and both intended to keep it that way.

Dom awkwardly looked over at Cain who had stepped over to the small boy.

"Now, Yugi, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where you'll be speaking-"

Yugi's eyes flew wide.

"No, no, no, you never said anything about public speaking! I, I-I have a sore throat, you see," he demonstrated with an awfully fake cough. "It's terrible, and-"

"And he's faking it," Yami said calmly as he looked on in amusement. "Yugi would love to open your tournament."

"WHAT!?" Yugi immediately turned and narrowed his eyes, scowling at Yami with insane intensity. Yami chuckled.

"It'll be good for you."

"Oooooh I hate you right now," he quietly seethed, as Cain motioned for him to follow.

Yami grinned and watched as Cain led his little one away, who turned and gave him a thumbs up despite how horrified and angry he was. Yami smiled and returned it, and after the two were out of sight, Dom approached him.

"Now there will be eight duelists competing for the top spot, you included. We wanted a good show, so we went for quality as opposed to quantity, heh heh heh...heh."

Yami's firm mouth didn't budge an inch, and Dom's goofy grin faded.

"Right, well if you'll come this way..."

* * *

Yami had to pretend he was coughing to keep the audience from noticing the laughter tearing through his body.

Yugi's flushed, red face was on every giant screen in the completely filled stadium; wide, horror-filled eyes stared blankly into the camera that was playing the tournament on TV stations around the world.

"Yesandthat'swhythistournamentwillbeagoodone. Ihopeeveryonehasagoodtimeandthanksforhavingmehere. Dylar'snice. Youhavegoodhotdogs. Ohgod, okaygoodbye."

Yugi groaned and put his face in his hands, tearing off of the arena as fast as possible. Yami straightened himself up as concern suddenly filled him, but he relaxed once he saw Yugi had moved to the stands, and was sitting next to Dom and Cain, who were happily patting him on the back.

"And now for round one! The first duel will be Yami Atemu vs. Davin Ecker! Players ready...and BEGIN!"

The duel had gone by quickly enough; Yami had beat his opponent within five minutes. Yugi's spirits rose as he watched them play the game, and he smiled as Yami stepped down from the arena and proudly glanced at him. Four made it to the next round, Yami included, and he was brought back up to duel again. This one went much less smoothly, and Yugi watched, not noticing how much he had resorted to nervously biting his lip and fumbling with his hands. But again, Yami remained triumphant. Yugi squealed, and even laughed as Cain and Dom high fived each other, obviously getting really into the duels themselves.

"Come on, Yami, come on, Yami, come on, Yami," he quietly chanted as Yami stepped up once again for the semifinals. He watched on intently, taking note of the various strategies used by his opponent, and mentally thinking of the best ways Yami could get around them. To his utter joy, Yami seemed to recognize every single one. He breezed through this duel, securing a space in the finals, and Yugi finally let out the breath he had been holding since who knows when.

It was the final duel. The other duelist went by the name of Nomura, and Yugi slightly twitched in his seat, knowing that he was more than a formidable duelist after watching him play. The duel was one of the best and worst things Yugi ever had to witness. It was insanely intense, and both seemed to be neck and neck through the entire thing. Trap cards after trap cards after magic cards were activated, and Yugi was awed at just how good a duel it was; the crowed was following intently, oohing and awwing with every card placed on the field. Yugi watched horrified as Yami's life points fell down to a measly two hundred, and Nomura's remained at about six hundred. But he calmed himself knowing that if there was any time Yami was going to step up, it would be now. Yami always seemed to bounce back when his life points got low.

And sure enough, the next thing he knew, Normura's life points read at zero. His swift final move had the entire stadium on the end of their seats speechless. Yugi was the first one to jump up cheering, even though he honestly wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, and immediately took off towards the arena. Soon the entire stadium erupted in fierce cries and cheers as they played back Yami's last move. His name flashed among the several giant screens as he was finally allowed to step down from the arena, and was met with Cain Carmichael.

"Our winner: Mr. Yami Atemu!"

Yami ignored the numbing cheers that followed, his eyes quickly scanning the stadium stands for a blur of magenta, gold, and black. Meanwhile, Cain gave a little wrap-up speech and after a few minutes, the tournament officially ended, and people began filing out. Cain asked Yami to meet him a little later at the front desk for his prize money, a check worth a few thousand dollars. Yami nodded; he would go after he found Yugi. Cain left through an exit, and in his place stood Yugi, who ran as fast as he could towards Yami, stopping only when he was a mere six feet away from him. Yugi just stood there, his lips slightly parted as he panted, catching his breath, his eyes brilliantly glowing with pride and admiration.

Yugi mouthed "I love you," and it gave Yami the biggest smile of the entire day. The loudness of the vanishing crowd had immediately muted; all that Yami saw and heard was his light.

Yugi warmly smiled at his grinning other half, and Yami took a step forward towards him…

And froze.

Something was wrong.

Yami's face dropped as he witnessed Yugi's smile fade ever so slowly, and his eyes grow wide in a frightful confusion…

Yugi started breathing hard, trembling, and ultimately began swaying on the spot…

"Yugi?" Yami inquired, his eyes wide in terror and concern.

Yugi was struggling, his eyes desperately blinking as he fought the turmoil inside…

And with a sharp gasp, he fell forward.

"YUGI!"

Yami immediately ran up to Yugi, quickly catching his weight on his arms.

"Yugi!"

He roughly shook the small boy, who only moved with the motion of his arms. He was deeply unconscious.

Yami desperately looked around, instinctively yelling for help. Things seemed to be moving slowly, so slowly as he desperately looked from those frozen faces in the audience to the fragile boy in his arms. He continued to scream…

Continued to scream…

His own cries fell deaf to his ears. The world went mute.

* * *

Yami hurriedly paced the hallway of the local hospital they had been taken to, desperately awaiting news from absolutely anyone, even if it came from that stupid, annoying doctor. He had harshly cursed at the man earlier for making him wait outside while they ran tests on his little one, and now, an hour later, he was growing downright hostile.

Finally, he saw the flash of that long white coat from the corner of his eye, and quicky spun on his heel; deep emotions battling for dominance of his face.

"Well?" he harshly demanded as he stood rooted in front of the man, the same man who had taken Yugi away earlier.

The middle-aged doctor held a chart, and ran his free hand through his wavy brown hair as he sighed.

"You the boyfriend? Yugi said you'd be out here."

Yami quickly nodded, noting that Yugi had willingly spilled the beans, which meant it had to be something bad...

Before he knew it, an impatient growl had risen from deep within his throat, causing the doctor to quickly speak up.

"Mr. Atemu, my name is Dr. Darian. Now this is going to come as quite a shock...it most certainly was to all of us," he said as he released a strangled breath, head shaking at the oddity of what he was about to say.

"Sir, Yugi is…well, he's pregnant."

Yami's eyes flew wide, and for the second time that day, his world froze.

"Excuse me?" His quiet whisper bounced off the walls and rang through the hallway; the words pounding in his own ears.

"He's having a baby."

_Cancer. Some rare life-threatening disease. Anything..._

Yami's paranoid mind had braced itself for the worst and he thought he was ready to hear anything. But certainly, certainly not that.

He stood stunned, eyes wide, brows furrowed, and after what seemed like eternity, broke out of his trance as a dark, almost manic chuckle eerily protruded from his mouth.

"You think that's funny?"

"I don't know what to tell you Mr. Atemu," the doctor said as he raised his shoulders in defense. "It's the truth. These tests don't lie. We did some more blood work according to his symptoms just for the heck of it and well, surprise, Yugi's about a month along or so."

Yami stared into the man's eyes, his grin faltering slowly, before he released the breath he was unaware he had been holding, clutching the wall as a spell of dizziness crashed over him.

"How is that even possible…"

"Your guess is as good as ours at this point. I mean, Yugi's clearly a male through and through. As far as all logic goes, it _shouldn't_ be possible."

Yami grasped the flat wall, desperately needing support. The doctor uncomfortably waited for a few seconds, hoping to give Yami a chance to calm down a bit, but was unsuccessful.

"Now, I'd assume you're the father?"

Yami could only give a slow nod, his entire body shaking.

"Well, we'd like to keep Yugi here for awhile and run some more tests, I mean, this is a major medical breakthrough, and highly unusual. Both of your lives are about to change forever. Heck, mine will too. That boy lying in there is the first actual man to ever get pregnant, and he's in our hospital…and to top it all off, he's Yugi Muto! Do you have any idea what this means?" he said, trying hard to keep his excitement off his face.

Yami looked up at the man in absolute disgust, glaring at him in silent rage as he thought of his shy little Yugi. If this got out, Yugi's life _would_ forever change. The publicity would destroy him. He barely managed to make his way through all the press after Duelist Kingdom and the other, later tournaments, and Yami definitely didn't want anymore crazed fans swarming his light. Yugi hated being the center of attention, he hated public speaking; he hated everything associated with having a title, other than of course, the actual title in itself.

Yami figured the best thing to do would be to get Yugi out of this place as fast as possible, before word leaked and the questioning began. Heck, there was no way to even to know if someone had already said something.

"No," Yami said roughly. "I am going to see him, and then we are getting out of here."

"Sir…"

"Take me to him. Now," he spat.

The doctor heavily sighed and turned on his heel, Yami quickly following behind. The doctor knocked on a door far down the hall and opened it slightly, extending his arm for Yami to step inside, before closing the door, leaving the two boys alone inside.

Yami looked over to the bed, his eyes tracing the trembling form lying on it, turned away from him.

"Yugi?"

At the familiar voice Yugi raised himself onto his arms and slowly turned to face Yami, his eyes full of dejection and sorrow, tears freely flowing down his face.

"Oh Yami, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"Yugi…"

Yugi just stared at him for a few seconds, almost begging him to help somehow, before his eyes fell and he returned to lie in his original position, facing the blank wall to his right. Yami looked on as his light quietly wept.

"Look, I completely understand if you don't want to do this anymore Yami; if you don't want to be with _me_ anymore…I didn't know…I just didn't know…I guess there's more wrong with me than I thought," he stated, just before a quiet sob racked his body.

Yami sighed and made his way over to him; slowly climbing into the hospital bed and securely wrapping his arms around him as the boy shuddered with sobs.

He leaned close to the boy's ear, and spoke quietly, trying to hold his own composure to keep Yugi calm.

"Yugi, you know that I love you more than anything. You are my world. I told you, nothing can change that. Nothing. This is a shock, but we'll get through this Yugi. It's still early, we have time to consider our options. No matter what we decide, I want you to know that I'm with you, okay? I'm with you till the end."

He didn't receive a response. Yami noticed that his own body had begun trembling.

"Yugi, look at me," he gently pressed on Yugi's shoulder, until Yugi turned and was looking straight into his eyes.

"I'm with you, alright?"

Yugi nodded and sniffled, tears still falling.

"I'm scared Yami. I'm so scared. Grandpa's gonna kill me. I don't even know what to tell him, I don't! This shouldn't even be possible. It's not fair!"

Yami gave a heavy sigh as Yugi's body harshly shuddered against his in shame.

"We have to tell him, Yugi," he said lowly as he slowly rubbed Yugi's arm. "We need him on our side. Your grandfather is very wise; he can help us make a decision."

"I know…I know…"

"We'll tell him together Yugi. I'm not leaving you..."

"I just hope we can get to him before he hears about it from someone else. God, everyone's going to find out…it's inevitable Yami. They'll all see I'm a freak," he said bitterly, quickly looking away from Yami's eyes.

"Yugi, no…don't talk like that."

"Are they going to take me away? Am I just going to become some kind of lab experiment? I don't want them to take me away Yami! I just, I just want to go home…"

"I won't let anyone touch you, aibou. They're not taking you anywhere."

Yugi looked up at this, Yami's firm, comforting gaze staring right into his.

"Yugi, as awful as it seems right now, it's possible that this is a gift in itself. A true miracle…"

Yugi groaned in annoyance. "This is no miracle…my life is over! I'm only seventeen, I can't be having a baby…I'm, I'm just a kid Yami!"

"Calm yourself. We have time on our side, we can think this over, but all I want to do right now is get you home. We can still make the train. Quick, change your clothes; I'm getting you out of here."

Yugi took a deep breath, rapidly wiping his tears away before getting up and grabbing his clothes, which were laying neatly on top of a nearby chair. He went into the bathroom, and Yami could hear the jingle of the silver chain Yugi always wore as he pulled the thin hopsital gown over his head and changed into his own clothes. When he was ready, he stepped out, angrily discarding the gown on top of the bed, as if it represented the most awful thing in the world.

"They're just going to let us walk out?"

"They don't have a choice. I already paid for the expense. Come." Yami extended his hand and Yugi grasped it tightly, interlocking his fingers with Yami's. Yami turned to look at him for a moment; the small boy's grip was almost deathly tight; like Yami was his lifeline, his only escape from everything.

Yami opened the door, and together the two marched.

Figures in white passed by ever so slowly.

They continued on.

Heads turned, and eyes followed them.

Yami growled.

Whispers spread among the employees.

Yugi clutched his hand even tighter as he shied behind him.

Finally.

They were outside and free, but as his aibou looked up at him, fear and apprehension consuming his large eyes, Yami could only think of one thing.

Their story would be out in a matter of hours. They had to beat it home.


	7. Face the Facts

A/N: Readers and reviewers, you guys are awesome. It's nice to know that people are actually keeping up with this, me included. This is actually the first thing I've written that's made it past the second chapter and that I haven't quit on. ;) I'm muy excited. This chapter's slightly shorter than the last two have been, and lol, I don't know what it is: even though Yugi's my favorite character, I love putting him in unpleasant, horrible, sad situations. XD Sorry bud! Lol, I need to figure out what I'm going to do with the next couple of chapters. I know ultimately where this is going, (and you don't...muahhaha), I've just got to dawdle until I can get the fic to that point.

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Language, Mature Themes

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

"Yami, stop it. I'm telling you, I'm FINE," he said harshly as Yami, with extreme caution, helped lower him onto a seat in the private compartment they had requested. The two had barely made it to the station on time, and mere seconds after Yami seated himself securely down next to Yugi, they felt a jolt, and the train commenced.

"Well, forgive me for trying to be careful…for both of your sakes," he muttered.

Yugi rolled his eyes and turned to the window, watching as the dark images outside sped up and slightly blurred. Both remained quiet over the next half hour, evident frowns upon their faces, completely lost in their own thoughts and fears. Silent tension filled the space, and soon the atmosphere of the enclosed compartment became nearly unbearable.

"Aibou?" Yami finally spoke, turning to look at Yugi, but unable to see his whole face.

Yugi twitched a little out of reflex, but did not turn around.

"Come now, Yugi. What's wrong? Well, aside from the obvious…," he said with a glance at Yugi's stomach, which still looked to be completely normal. "You're acting cold towards me."

Yugi remained turned away, but Yami noticed the trail of ever-present tears streaming down his cheek.

"I'm just waiting for you to say it."

"Say what, exactly?"

Yugi sighed and turned to him, eyes lowered to floor. "To say you don't want this."

Yami fought off the urge to roll his eyes as he reminded Yugi for the five thousandth time that he wasn't leaving him on his own. Yugi finally managed a weak smile, as he looked at him and shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry Yami. I just…I'm scared, and really, really anxious. Grandpa…well, I can tell you right now, it's not going to go well…," he breathed before turning back to the window and placing his head on it.

"When do you want to tell him?" Yami inquired as he took Yugi's warm hand in his, locking their fingers together.

Yugi contemplated a bit. "As soon as possible, unless of course, he already knows…"

"Well, he hasn't called you today, and that's a good sign. I'm fairly certain that if he heard the news, he'd be screaming at you right now."

"Maybe he's in shock?"

Yami raised an eyebrow, and Yugi chuckled a bit as he thought about his very vocal grandfather.

"Okay, you're right. But I just don't think I can do it today. Today's been way too…overwhelming. We can tell him tomorrow morning. We're just going to have to be on complete patrol. No newspapers, no TV, and Yami, if anyone sets a foot near our house, mind crush them into the next century."

Yami couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"As much as I would love to for your sake, aibou, you know those powers are gone now."

Yugi sighed. "I know. Just saying it'd be nice."

"Yugi?"

Yugi turned around to face his deep eyes.

"I love you. We can do this."

The smaller boy nodded, and returned his gaze to the window, random word combinations meshing together in his mind as he watched the passing trees. Yami sat quietly, his hand never leaving Yugi's as his eyes traveled over his light's soft face. Their time ticked down…

At nine fifteen at night, they both stood in front of the game shop, various pieces of luggage sprawled at their feet. Yugi's breathing had instantly picked up, and even Yami noticed his own heart had begun to beat at a much quicker pace. Yugi wearily eyed over the shop, and gave a small sigh of relief, causing Yami to curiously turn to him.

"All the lights are off. He must be asleep."

Yami gave Yugi an encouraging smile, which he gratefully returned, as Yami reached for the key lying securely in his pocket. His movements immediately grew heedful; stealth would be the winning factor at this point. Yugi had to suppress a gasp once he realized he was safely inside the shop; the door had hardly made a single sound. Using the impenetrable darkness as a cover, Yami slipped inside the house with all of their bags; he had refused to let the smaller boy carry anything, much to Yugi's annoyance.

Yami waited for his eyes to adjust a bit before moving the bags to lay against a wall; not daring to risk getting them upstairs. He felt a small hand reach out for his, and he clutched it tightly as Yugi took a step forward in the darkness, using his other hand as a guide. Yami soon felt the comforting familiarity of the kitchen atmosphere, and he was about to change positions so he could carefully lead his love up the stairs…

There was a blinding flash of light, and several dark figures sprang up, causing Yugi to scream loudly and back up into Yami's chest.

"SURPRISE!!!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!"

Before his eyes could adjust, Yami's ears were pounded with the sound of raucous laughter and aggravating plastic horns. After a few seconds, his eyes recognized the figures before him; Yugi's grandfather and best friends. Colorful banners and decorations completely swarmed the kitchen, and Joey happily grabbed a can of silly string from the table and turned it on Tristan. The brunette cursed thunderously, sending Joey into a fit of hysterics, until he realized that no one else was laughing, and that Tristan wasn't even looking at him.

All eyes had frozen on Yugi, whose face had gone completely pale, and was panting heavily. He stood shakily, catching his breath, until his knees buckled under him, and Yami had to tightly grasp his arms from behind to keep him from collapsing.

"Yugi?" Solomon asked as he rushed over to them, his voice frightened.

"S-scared the heck…out of me…d-don't ever do that…again…" he said as he forced a smile to ease the concern on their faces and the color slowly began to return to his face.

"Well, it was Joey's idea."

Yami and Yugi recognized the female voice instantly, and both turned their eyes to the tall brunette standing next to Solomon.

"Tea!" Yugi piped up, and Yami had to keep himself from rolling his eyes again.

"Happy Birthday, Yugi! I'm sorry I haven't been around much, I've been busy."

Yami reluctantly released Yugi as the boy wiggled in his arms, and frowned when he made his way over to Tea and hugged her happily.

"Thanks! It's good to see you!"

Yami inwardly snorted at the comment.

"Well Yug, you've got about five seconds to get your butt to the living room. Yes, I saw the Wii, and ya know, some moron over here hasn't had his ass kicked today."

"And you're clearly that moron, right?" Tristan said with a laugh.

"Shuddap! You just wait! Nothing's stopping me from actually punching _you_ in Wii Boxing, ya nimrod."

They all laughed, but Yami noticed that Yugi's was terribly faked. He quickly alerted Solomon that they wanted to put their bags upstairs, and the old man nodded in response. Yami grabbed all that he could, and the two left for the stairs. He felt Yugi give a small sigh of content as he stepped into Yami's familiar room, his safe place, but it was short-lived as he sat on the bed with his face in his hands and groaned.

"Now what?" he said as Yami closed the door behind him.

"Well, everyone important is here, so at least we won't have to tell it multiple times…" he joked with a shrug, causing Yugi to raise his head and glare at him. Yami's small smirk fell and he stepped over to Yugi, kneeling onto the floor so that his rich, crimson eyes were completely level with pure amethyst.

"I think it might be good to tell them tonight, and just get it over with. Your friends are here; we've got a support system. And they're bound to know regardless by tomorrow. That's my opinion."

Yugi sighed, and looked away for a moment in thought. He finally turned and gazed into Yami's eyes, desperately trying to hold back the fear in his own.

"Okay, but not until a little later. I just, I can't do it right now…"

Yami stood and took his hand, leading the boy down the stairs and back to the small party. Once down in the living room, Yami immediately raised an eyebrow at Joey and Tristan, who were prancing around like a pair of wild baboons, controllers in hand. He sharply turned to Yugi in confusion, and the small boy shrugged and gave a hearty laugh, one so welcome that it raised Yami's spirits as well.

After an hour and a half alternating turns on the game console, everyone moved into the small kitchen, where Yugi was met with a large layered chocolate cake adorned with swirly purple Dark Magicians all over it. He smiled widely as everyone circled around the table, Joey to his left, Yami to his right and Tea pulled out a digital camera in preparation. Solomon pulled out a small box of matches from a drawer and made his way over to the group, who laughed heavily when the first match he struck absolutely refused to ignite. Finally, several seconds later, every one of the seventeen candles scattered around the cake were lit, and Solomon begun the simple song, which immediately caused appreciative tears to spring into Yugi's eyes.

Yami desperately looked over to Joey and Tristan since he had no clue what the tune was, and tried to copy, ad-libbing horribly as clear embarrassment stung his cheeks. The blonde and brunette playfully belted the happy birthdays out. Eventually, the song came to an end, and after a verbal battle from the two clowns: ("And manyyyy moreeeee!" "The big fat lady on channel eighty!" "Joey, I heard that was your mom." "WHY I OUTTA-") Tea immediately rolled her eyes and leaned on the table, smiling at Yugi.

"Well, make a wish!" she said happily, camera raised.

And Yugi's smile fell fast. Before he knew it, his eyes were traveling to each of his friends' faces before finally resting on his grandfather's, who he quickly tore his eyes away from. He glanced down at his hands, then slowly at every single candle, then at Yami, so desperately, so intently; almost as if he were trying to memorize every feature of his face. Relunctantly, he turned his eyes to his grandfather's once more, and Yami frowned, knowing that this was it, and he mentally braced himself for what was to come. Sure enough, Yugi burst into tears, just as Tea snapped the photo.

Solomon, although shocked, sensed danger and immediately grabbed at the cardboard under the cake and pulled it towards him. The act proved successful; Yugi's hair did not catch fire as he threw his head down upon his arms and began to weep heavily.

Yami barely heard Joey yell, "I told you to go for the vanilla cake, you idiot! He doesn't like it!" Anticipation overwhelmed his senses and his heart slammed severely against the confines of his chest.

Solomon's violet eyes held full concern as he blew out the candles for him, and made his way around the table over to Yugi, completely unsure of what the problem was.

Tristan shifted uncomfortably. "Uhh, should we go?"

"No." Yami said firmly. "Everyone to the living room; we need to talk."

They all stared. He didn't want Yugi to be in such an enclosed space when he spoke, and immediately thought of the larger living room, where everyone could at least fit comfortably. Solomon hesitantly shifted, pulling Yugi up gently from the kitchen table, and leading him into the living room. Yami suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable when Solomon passed and glanced at him; his eyes were completely unreadable, and Yami didn't like it.

Finally, all were in the bigger room, Tristan on the couch, Tea sitting on an armrest, Joey sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Solomon sitting on a wooden stool in the back, his eyes boring into the Egyptian's, who found he couldn't muster the will to return the stare.

Yami merely leaned against the wall, his eyes to the floor, his heart beating rapidly. He opened his mouth to speak, but froze when he felt a small hand brush his shoulder. Yugi was suddenly at his side, gazing into his eyes pleadingly, and Yami immediately understood what he wanted. Yugi wanted to do the talking; he wanted to be the one to do this.

He slowly nodded before whispering, "I'm right here."

Yugi nodded and took one of Yami's hands, touching it carefully to his cheek and leaning into it as he closed his eyes and a single stream of tears fell down his face. After a few seconds he released Yami's hand and turned, taking a very deep breath as he faced the group. He didn't speak right away, causing the others to grow insanely anxious.

"What is it Yug?"

"What's the matter?" Tristan added, his voice full of concern and slight frustration.

Yugi bit his lip and looked at his grandfather, who appeared to be a silent stone statue; the only part of him moving were his alert eyes as they shifted back and forth between Yugi and Yami.

Yugi took yet another deep breath and paced around a bit, causing Tea to shift impatiently.

"Yugi-" Yami started.

Yugi closed his eyes and slightly raised his hand, silencing the boy behind him. He finally opened his eyes and faced his almost statuesque grandfather for a last time, his gleaming violet eyes full of nothing but immeasurable shame.

"I'm pregnant."

The statement was met with complete silence. Yugi's eyes never left his grandfather, who sat unflinching as Tristan and Joey eventually burst into laughter.

"Yeah, good one Yugi. Good one. But ya know, you're a little late…"

"April Fools was like two months ago!"

Their laughter faded, and another horrible silence filled the room as Tea scanned Yugi's eyes desperately for any sign of a lie.

"Um guys, I don't think he's kidding…" she concluded, her voice barely above a whisper.

And yet Yugi's eyes never left Solomon, who stared at his grandson's face, completely unblinking.

"But, dat's, dat's not possible! Boys can't have babies…"

"Well, Yugi's the first."

They all froze as Yami finally stepped forward from his position against the wall, and put a hand on Yugi's shoulder as he spoke.

"He wasn't feeling well in Dylar, so I took him to a hospital," he started, careful to leave out the whole terrifying fainting bit. "And those were the results. Yugi's four to five weeks right now."

Joey fell back against the couch with a sigh, head shaking in disbelief. Tristan and Tea just stared at the former Pharaoh, their eyes the size of saucers at the confirmation.

Suddenly they heard a light creak as Solomon rose from the wooden stool and quietly made his way over to the standing pair. Yami raised his fierce crimson eyes to finally challenge the deep, worn violet ones before him, and Yugi couldn't contain the sob that rang through the room when Solomon's hand deftly struck Yami across the face.

Yami's head snapped to his right, and he remained stunned in that position, his mind racing, his veins pulsing, biting his lip to control the hurt fury that, after the immediate shock, crawled through his body and into his very soul.

Yugi could only beg and plead as Solomon sharply turned to him, and he shook so horribly in terror that he was going to be hit. Hit again…just like…

Solomon only stared at him and shook his head, eyes brimming with tears that finally cupped over and ran down his aged face.

"You let me down."

The words hit the boy deep, worse than any hit ever could have, and as he stared back at Solomon, rough sobs overcame his entire being.

"I'm sorry…Grandpa, I'm sorry…"

"I thought you were ready to make your own choices. You said you were ready to take responsibility for yourself, and now look where you are. Do you understand exactly what you've done? You've put your life on hold, you've put all of our lives on hold, for _your _mistake. What are we supposed to do? We're barely making a living as it is; we won't make it with another addition. You're not married, and Yami has no job-"

Yugi only managed an insignificant squeak in protest, and Solomon bitterly raised his voice. "Yes, he duels, but big tournaments don't come around often. A baby is twenty-four seven Yugi, do you realize that?"

Yugi was now completely unable to speak properly; his attemped words were only leaving him in harsh gasps.

"You have proven to me that you are nothing but an irresponsible child, and a child will not run my game shop. A child _with_ a child, at that. You can forget about what I said yesterday morning. The deal's off."

A particularly sharp intake of breath was heard around the room and Yugi's vast eyes blackened immediately; his entire body convulsing as tears fell yet more rapidly, and his gasps grew in intesntity. His friends watched on helplessly, and Yami finally snapped to his senses, turning around to glare at Solomon, who angrily rounded on him once more.

"And you, would it have killed you to use a condom?"

Yami's eyes grew wide once more, completely speechless, and Yugi sharply trembled as Solomon cursed loudly and threw his hands into the air.

"God! I don't care if this shouldn't have been possible, you were completely unprotected and unsafe! I would have hoped you'd both have had more sense than that, at least!"

Yami shuddered as he watched Solomon violently tremble in rage. This was a side of Yugi's grandfather that none of them had ever seen, including Yugi, and it was hard to believe that this red-faced, shaking man was the same one who contently swept the sidewalk out front every morning. Yugi must have promptly sensed something, for he had stepped directly in front of Yami, and threw his arms around his grandfather, whispering, begging, pleading for Yami to be able to remain in the house. Solomon merely stood, unwilling to return the firm hug, his mind racing over the idea. Yugi looked back up at him, searching his eyes, until his grandfather gave a defeated sigh and broke away.

"I can't continue right now. We will discuss this more tomorrow," he said with a shake of his head. "Go to bed," he muttered to Yugi, and with that, he was gone. Silence filled the room until they heard the door slam upstairs, and Yugi slowly sank to floor. His friends immediately rushed to him, voices low.

"No, Yugi, no…" Tea soothed quietly as she tried to wipe away his unending tears. "Everything's going to be okay…you'll see."

"Yami man, you okay? He hit you pretty hard," Tristan noted as he turned to Yami, who had knelt beside Yugi, and was holding him tightly. Yami didn't respond; he was too busy whispering words of comfort into Yugi's ear. Yugi merely looked on to the floor, his eyes blank.

"The worst is over, Yugi," Tea said as she rubbed his arm. "The worst is over...you've got to calm down. You know, stress can cause miscarriage..."

Yugi shook his head slowly. "Maybe that'd be a good thing."

"Yugi..." Yami warned.

"Okay, okay..."

"Come on Yug, do you know what this means?" Joey said enthusiastically, trying to brighten up the atmosphere a bit at least. "Joey Wheeler's gonna be an uncle!!!"

Tea looked at him sharply, but Yugi actually chuckled once through his tears, so Joey continued.

"Heck yeah! I'll teach him all sorts of cool things, like how to duel, and how to get dates...how to-"

"Umm, yeah, no, Joey. I'll be doing the training on this one. If you do, the kid's gonna grow up to be a total moron, just like you," Tristan said nonchalantly.

Joey's mouth dropped, and Tea suddenly squealed, "Let's not rule out that it could be a girl!!!"

Soon, all three were arguing over visitation rights, and Yugi despite all of the trauma that the day had brought, leaned back against Yami and smiled lightly as his tears began to recede.

"So," Joey turned to him sharply. "What is it, girl or boy?"

Tristan whacked him on the head, "He won't know yet, you idiot."

"Yeah, it'll be awhile until the gender can be determined," Tea added. "Not until he's like five months-ish."

They bickered on for the next few minutes, and Yami drowned out their voices as he turned to his hikari.

"You were very brave Yugi. I'm proud of you."

"I'm not."

"You'll see it one day. You're stronger than you know."

"I love you Yami. And thank you," he whispered after a few seconds.

"I love you too, aibou. More than anything..."

"Hey, you two, cut it out!" Tea said as she turned to Yugi, whose left hand was cupping Yami's face and was kissing him gently. "Remember, that's what started this in the first place!" she said with a wink.

* * *

"_And that's all the updates we have on the museum at this time. For more information-"_

Ryou hastily shut off the old television and threw the remote to the ground, just as Bakura materialized next to him, an unpleasant grin on his face.

"Now now, I was just having a bit of fun."

The slightly smaller albino spun and glared at him. "You killed thirty eight people, you bastard."

Bakura merely shrugged. "I told you, if you want me to help you, then you've got to help me and keep your nose out of my business; I do believe that was the agreement."

Ryou scowled. "I just don't like seeing people get hurt, innocent people…and knowing that I'm responsible..."

"They had it coming to them. And besides, we're on the right track. I may have a lead now on how to get your father back. And hmm, what do you know, the Pharaoh has yet to bother us. Perhaps I was successful? We must pay him a visit someday; if the whore's miserable, I want to see it."

"You're insane," the white-haired boy said as he shook his head.

"Well, no shit. Although, I must say I've really been enjoying myself lately. Now if you don't mind," he said as his spirit rushed into Ryou's body and took complete control of the vessel, "I've got a date with that fucking library. It's going to burn so _wonderfully_..." he said as the thrill of the idea sped up his movements and soon he was out the door, rushing into the darkness.

By the next morning, the building was no more.


	8. Come Around

A/N: Ahhh, it's been a busy week. Week? When's the last time I updated this? I can't remember, and I'm too lazy to look. XD So this chapter's relatively short; I was debating on whether or not I should post it now or wait and mesh it with the next chapter. But since the next chapter's going to jump and take place a couple of months after this one, I figured oh what the hey, better just post this now. Oh, and I thought I'd go ahead and warn you now: the ending of this story is still quite a ways away, (this is the half-way mark) but it's not going to be pretty. Very, very, bittersweet…

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Language, Mature Themes

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the wonderful characters involved in this fic.

* * *

Yugi had a rough night.

Yami couldn't help but sigh as he glanced at the small boy sitting solemnly at the kitchen table desperately trying to keep his head up and his eyes focused despite his exhaustion. His color was slightly off, and his spiky tri-colored hair stood in total disarray. Yugi had had another bout of sickness this morning, but this time he had refused to go back to sleep, claiming he wanted nothing more than to talk his current situation through with his grandfather. So despite it being merely seven fifteen in the morning, all three of them sat around the table; mugs of hot chocolate in Yugi's and Solomon's hands. They now sat quietly; Yugi glancing up at his grandfather occasionally, Yami firmly upright in his seat.

"So what are you thinking Yugi?" Solomon asked, the toll of the past day's event evident in his weak, strained voice.

Yugi contemplated for a bit behind his half-lidded eyes. "You know, it's funny. I've always considered myself a pro-life person, and yet when I actually got put into the situation, the first thing that came to mind was abortion. I don't know where I stand anymore," he whispered, almost as if he were saying it to himself. "But no, I've decided I don't want that. I can't."

Solomon let out a small sigh of relief, raising Yugi's spirits somewhat. "Well good, because my great-grandchild deserves a chance at life even if it was caused by two reckless teenagers." Yugi winced at the last words. "And you?" his grandfather asked, turning and eyeing Yami wearily. "You're okay with that?"

"Of course," Yami said, a slight proud edge apparent in his voice.

"Well, I guess that settles it. I'll start helping you look into couples for adoption and-"

"Actually," Yami said, glancing over at the small boy next to him who suddenly focused hard on the tablecloth, making sure he heard Yami's next words. "If it were up to me, I'd like to keep the baby."

Both Yugi and Solomon's eyes shot open, Yugi's holding clear betrayal as he turned to look over to the taller boy. He sat with his mouth slightly open for a few seconds, then finally spoke. "Well, it's not entirely up to you, and I disagree. Yami, don't you want this baby to have a stable life? How much can we truly provide for him or her at this point? You know, grandpa's right, I'm just a kid: I don't know anything about raising a child, and neither do you for that matter. I can't do this…"

"I could get a job, a real one, and Yugi, _we _can do this. It won't be easy I assure you, but I know that if it's something we really want, it is indeed possible," he said softly, placing his hand on top of Yugi's and gently caressing it. "I for one don't want my child walking around with complete strangers. It's our baby Yugi; it should remain with us. I don't think you're-"

"Oh," Yugi said, hurriedly yanking his hand away from Yami and putting it under the table. "You think I _want_to give him or her away? I'd like to keep it as much as you would Yami, but I, but we-"

Solomon sighed. "Yami, there are others out there who are definitely more suited for this…and it would truly be a gift for them…"

"This is a gift to us as well! Why can't you two see that?" Yami protested, his hands now tightly gripping the edge of the table.

"Yami please, don't be difficult," Yugi started as he looked down at the table. "I'm not ready for this; we won't be ready for this. We've only got less than eight months!"

"And in those eight months, I'm telling you Yugi, you will grow very attached to that child. To give it up would destroy you…I don't want to see you cry when you have to surrender the baby. I don't want to see you hurt. Is that so wrong?"

Yugiquickly looked back up at him, frozen for a few seconds, and Yami smiled inwardly as he saw something spark behind Yugi's eyes before the boy turned away, his small hand gently touching his stomach.

"B-but we can't be selfish Yami…"

Yami kept his gaze on Yugi, smiling to himself as he watched the boy's face; Yugi was thinking it over, and that was a good sign.

"I'm just asking for both of you to give me some time. I'll show you I can provide for us Yugi, for all of us. I absolutely refuse to let our family be broken, and that's where I stand." At his last comment, Yugilooked back up and straight into Yami's eyes, having to force himself not to nod for Grandpa's sake. His hand remained on his stomach as he looked cautiously over to Solomon, who gave another heavy sigh. "You may have Yugi over here convinced, but I'm not so sure it'll be that easy. You know, you're not exactly up to date with all the modern advances Yami…"

"I'll find a way."

"Well, if you can get a sturdy, well-paying job sometime soon, I'll reconsider. However, in the meantime, I _will _be looking for adoption families, and I still don't think either of you realize what you are in for. Yami, you might as well start looking now. Yugi, go get the paper outside, he can start there."

Yugi frowned at Yami, clearly fearing leaving him alone with his grandfather, but the aged man kept motioning for Yugi to leave until the two were left alone in the tense kitchen. Both remained silent for a moment until Solomon finally leaned forward, remorse written all over his violet eyes.

"You've got a bruise there, son," he said pointing to Yami's slightly purple cheek. "Oh Yami, I'm so sorry…I was just so upset last night. I love Yugi more than anything, and to see him put in any sort of danger or hurt at all, I just, I can't handle it. I'm sure you know the feeling; the kid's a darn trouble magnet. How many times has he almost died?" Solomon asked with a wince. Yami thought a moment, then opened his mouth to speak. "Err, nevermind, don't answer that. But Yugi's been through so much and deserves so much, more than I can possibly give him…it's just taken me so long to realize that maybe Yami, maybe he's got something good…in you."

Yami's eyes slowly widened at the statement.

"I'll tell you right now, my first instinct last night was to throw you out of here. But Yami, you're practically family now. I love you, and I care for you, and I know you love my grandson too, and," he sighed. "And I need you to be with him, to stick with him. I'm not going to be around much longer Yami, I can feel it. I just want to make sure that Yugi's taken care of. Regardless of whether or not you keep the baby," he said as a his eyes slowly brimmed with tears."I just want to know that you'll always be there for him, because I...cannot."

Yami immediately reached out for Yugi's grandfather, laying his hand upon the others'.

"Yugi is my life now, Solomon. He always will be. I promise you, no matter what happens, he will always come first. I promise you that.''

Solomon hastily wiped his first tear away, smiling at Yamiin return. They sat silently, until they heard an awful lot of excited chatter and Yugi's terror-filled scream of Yami's name come from outside. Both of their eyes snapped open and Yamiimmediately shot up and ran to the front door, Solomon following as fast as he could behind.

They were swarmed. At least a dozen different reporters and camera crews crowded around Yugi, throwing microphones in his face as the poor boy struggled to turn back to the house. Yami growled and mentally slapped himself for forgetting about the press, before pushing himself into the circle they had formed around the tiny boy and pulling him out of it.

"Mr. Muto! Mr. Muto, over here!!"

"What do you want it to be? Boy or girl?"

"Will you still be dueling, Yugi?"

"How do you feel about being the world's first pregnant man?"

Grandpa left the house mere seconds later, armed with a broom and began swatting it around relentlessly. Yami and Yugi finally made it safely back inside, but not before several pictures were snapped of the two and Yugi's broom-wielding grandpa.

Once inside, Yami kissed the trembling, wide-eyed boy's forehead in apology, and the two waited until Solomon slammed the front door shut.

"I'm so sorry, Yugi. This is ridiculous," the old man muttered. "I'm calling Kaiba. I want these people off of my property for good," he said before throwing his trusty broom down and rushing to the kitchen.

"Yugi, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Just a little shaken. No more damn surprises! They're not good for me…" he said as he gave a soft groan and held his stomach. Seconds later he burst out laughing though, much to Yami's surprise.

"I wouldn't doubt it if Grandpa's on the front page tomorrow. I can see it now, "_CRAZY SENILE OLD FOOL WHACKS WITH BROOM." _

Yami chuckled. "Well, at least the Game Shop will be getting a little attention."

Yugi smiled, then dropped it. "They're going to be following me everywhere from now on, Yami…I'm scared."

"I won't let them Yugi. They will not come near you anymore."

"Yugi?" Grandpa called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"You might want to see this."

Yugi looked up at Yami before the two made their way into the living room, and watched as Solomon pointed to the TV from his spot in the kitchen; his ear to the telephone as he forcefully punched numbers on the receiver. A photo of Yugiflashed by on the screen, and Yugi immediately groaned, throwing his face in his hands.

"_Domino's very own champion duelist Yugi Muto is pregnant! We can confirm that he is dating fellow duelist Yami Atemu, who we've been told is the father as well._ _Many are following the story-_"

"Why grandpa, WHY?!?!" Yugi muttered, his weak voice muffled by his hands.

Solomon made a face and quickly shook his head, throwing the remote to Yami in the next room and motioning for him to change it to the next station. "Sorry, must have hit a button. Channel Six, Yami, Channel Six."

"_The Main Domino Library branch is no more. Several were injured and killed in this morning's freak fire accident. Authorities believe this to be a case of arson, but there is no word as to if this is tied with the Museum that burnt last month. For more news-"_

Both Yugi and Yami stood rooted to floor, eyes wide as they continued to watch.

"No way…" Yugi whispered. "Two buildings in two months? That's just-that's not right. Somebody's gotta be behind it. Yami, we gotta, we gotta-unnh," Yugi groaned as he held his stomach once more. Yami sighed and planted himself on the couch, pulling Yugi into his lap as he wrapped his arms tightly around the slightly struggling boy.

"Yugi, this is NOT the time to be thinking, "Save the world.""

Yugi turned and glared at him, but finally gave up and leaned back against him. As the two sat they realized the true predicament they faced; not only were they pregnant, but they were also imprisoned in their own home for the time being. A few bored hours ticked byuntil the phone suddenly rang, and Yugi ran eagerly into the shop portion of the house; thankful for something else to do since trying to teach Yami how to play the Wii was like trying to get a cat to clap his hands together on command. He just didn't get it. They would have to try again some other time. Yugi finally picked the phone up and took a deep breath to give a hello, only to practicallyhavehis ear blasted off by the voice on the other end.

"YUG! You are all over the news buddy-"

"Joey, I know. Calm down, I know…"

"You know it's only a matter of time before they ask you to go on Oprah or something."

Yami was very suddenly in the room, eyes wide in a manic excitement as Yugi sighed heavily, pushing the older boy away from him as he desperately tried to pry the phone from his hands. "No Yami, we are _not_ going on Oprah…I don't-I don't care how bad you want to meet her, I refuse to interview about this."

Joey was cracking up on the other end of the line. "Oh yeah, and Serenity called, she says congratulations."

Yugi sighed. "Tell her I said thanks."

"It's gonna be okay Yug. It might seem crazy right now, but soon this'll blow over and the world will move onto the next thing. You'll see."

"I hope so Joey, I sure hope so."

"I'll go visit ya tomorrow, okay Yug? I gotta head out."

"Okay, see you Joey."

"Later."

Yugihung up and turned to Yami, who was eyeing him with a pained expression. "Why can't the press just leave me alone? I don't want random people involved in my life, it's my business."

"It's going to be like that from now on until the baby's born Yugi, and possibly even after that. But I told you before, they will not get near you ever again. I will not allow it."

Yugi smiled warmly at the taller boy, and a slight blush spread across his cheeks. "I love you, do you know that?"

Yami nodded before wrapping his arms around the boy, kissing him fiercely; the first chance he had really got since this whole thing began. As he broke apart to take a much-needed breath, he chuckled at how Solomon's eye twitched when he walked into the room and quickly turned back out.

Their phone rang off the hook the entire rest of the day. People Yugi barely knew at school called in giving their well-wishes, and some not-so-well-wishes, and several random others called leaving nasty death threats much to Yami's horror and frustration. It wasn't natural, they said. It was wrong. Yugi had to be some kind of demon freak. Some sort of abonimation.

"People always fear what's different," Yugi said later. "They always do."

* * *

_Hello Diary,_

_Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle. It seems that the story did leak, and now I wonder if things will ever go back to normal. Pfft, normal. When has my life ever been normal?_

_You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm liking the idea of keeping this baby. We can start our own family. Yes things will be hectic and insane, and my life will be put on hold, but all I really wanted was the game shop and as long as I can have Yami by my side, I'll be happy. Grandpa and I talked today; he apologized and said that if I keep myself safe and out of trouble, I can still have the shop when he retires. I was thrilled of course. I cried. Again. Haha, but his whole out of trouble thing kinda confused me. I mean I'm already pregnant. How much more trouble can I get into? Ahh, and I am hating this whole morning sickness shindig. It's driving me insane!_

_Until tomorrow,_

_Yugi Muto_

* * *

Yugi moaned and glanced over at the clock on Yami's nightstand. 3:56 in the morning. He bit his lip and turned over to his companion, watching for a minute as Yami's chest rose and fell. He grew mesmerized, and caressed Yami's cheek lightly before leaning down to place a light kiss on his lips. Yugi turned back over, and tried to force himself to go back to sleep, but it was no use. Reluctantly he turned back around to face the Egyptian and lightly shook him.

"Yami," he whispered. "Yami!"

Yami's eyes fluttered open, and after he focused on figure in front of him, he immediately shot up in the bed.

"Yugi! What's the matter, what's wrong?" he quickly demanded.

"Shhh-nothing's wrong, it's just-"

"What is it? Are you feeling sick again?" Yami hopped over Yugi and got off the bed, pulling Yugi's arm up until the boy was up as well.

"No, actually, I'm just...well, hungry."

Yami's eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled sheepishly, closing his eyes.

"Oh. Well, let's head downstairs-"

Yugi's large eyes raised to the ceiling as he slightly swayed. "Well, the thing is…you see, I'm insanely craving ice cream right now. Bad. And we don't have any."

Yami chuckled, massaging his tired face. "I see. But I don't think anything is open right now Yugi. Can't you wait a few more hours?"

"Yeah," Yugi said quickly shaking his head, a little too enthusiastically, as if he were trying to convince himself. Then his stomach growled loudly, causing his smile to fall and his nodding to fade. "Yeah, no…"

Yami laughed again. "It starts. I heard about these cravings on Oprah. Actually, I believe the corner store is open twenty four hours, and I'm fairly certain they carry ice cream."

Yugi started pulling on one of Yami's jackets until Yami stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"With you!" Yugi said.

"No, no, no, no, no, you're staying here. I'll go get it. I don't want you outside at this time of night."

Yugi opened his mouth to protest but it was clear Yami had already won the argument, and he carried his defeated self back over to the bed. "Be careful, please," Yugi whispered. The taller boy nodded and carefully made his way downstairs. Yami yawned as he left the game shop, stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket as he made his way down the street. It started, indeed.

Several minutes later he stood at the checkout, carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream in hand, glaring at the male cashier who had recognized him and burst into laughter.

"So you're the guy who knocked up little Yugi Muto!"

Yami immediately growled, shoving a few dollars into the chubby brunette's hand, before turning away, not even bothering to get his change.

The next night went the same. Only Yugi seemed to be craving something different every single time, which they had conveniently run out of.

And the next night.

And the next night.

And the next night.

By the end of the week, Yami was downright exhausted, but once again he got up, muttering to himself as he pulled on his jacket. Not only was this getting slightly out of hand, it was also getting expensive. He silently hoped that this was just a passing phase and that Yugi would soon recover. He quietly snuck out of the Game Shop, and once again proceeded down the street, quietly rambling the entire way there. One thing was for certain: the next few months were going to be loooooong ones. Long ones, indeed.


	9. Welcome Back

A/N: Whew, sorry this update took so long! I've been very busy/distracted this month. Stress, stress, stress. Blaahhhhh....

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

"No."

"Yugi…" Yami growled, the low warning rumbling in his throat.

"What part of no don't you understand?"

"I can't believe this, Yugi…" he sighed heavily before rolling his eyes. "My goodness…_Please?"_

"Yami, I may not really look it, but I already feel like a darn balloon."

At the statement, Yami looked down to Yugi's stomach, which now, three months later, still looked to be relatively normal. Yugi had only gained a little bit of weight, and now just had a barely noticeable bump, but he was constantly complaining about it. For someone who had been so tiny his entire life, a few pounds here and there made him feel like a darn sumo wrestler. Yami had also noticed that Yugi was extremely bitter about the fact that his grandfather had restricted him from wearing pretty much anything in his prior wardrobe. All of his skin-tight, leather clothing had been pushed to the back of his closet to make room for all of the baggier jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies. Yugi was not a happy camper.

"I _am not_ going to carry the puzzle around to school today. I don't want any more weight on me."

"Oh, will you quit being so stubborn? Yugi, it's for your own protection. I want to be able to know if you're in danger, and without the link, I, I can't-"

"Well, why don't you just enroll at school then? Hmm? Then you could keep tabs on me twenty-four seven, like I know you want!" he spat. "God Yami, I'll be fine!"

"You know I would enroll to look after you, but, well, you know…"

Yugi paused, his anger residing as quickly as it had flared. He searched Yami's eyes for a second then turned his gaze to the ground and sighed. "I really hope this comes through, Yami. Because if not…"

Yami turned his gaze to the side. "It will. It has to." He cringed slightly at the thought of the past three months and all the jobs he had tried for and been denied. He felt a stab of guilty pain as he looked back down at Yugi, whose eyes were still traveling over the floor. He greatly felt that he had let his aibou down, and now, Kaiba was their only chance. And even if everything went according to plan, nothing was certain. Solomon or even Yugi could change his mind. Kaiba held a piece of their future in the palm of his hands, and that definitely wasn't a nice thought.

"Well, you look very nice Yami," Yugi mentioned as he brought his eyes back up and scanned over Yami's neat clothing in attempt to distract Yami's thoughts. "What time are you meeting with him, again?"

"Nine-thirty. I want to make sure I'm there early though."

"Right." Yugi smiled at him a second, before reaching down to pick up his bookbag, and walking to the door of Yami's bedroom. He froze and paused for a second, and turned back to Yami, an odd expression on his face. "Oh, I uh, might be home later today. Tea's buying the baby some clothes, and she wants me to pick stuff out."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "So soon? But we're not sure-"

"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't talk her out of it. You know how Tea gets…"

"Well, I'd like to be there with you."

"Oh please no, Yami! We just got Tea back into the group. She's really excited about this baby. I don't want you screwing it up."

Yami scowled at him, clearly offended, until Yugi merely shrugged in apology and slipped out of the room. The taller boy stared on, wondering exactly when this change in his light had occurred. '_Oh that's right_," he thought bitterly. "_Since the baby." _Everything seemed to come back to the pregnancy. He sighed as his head swam. His sweet, innocent Yugi was still there somewhere, he was certain, but he rarely saw that side of him these days. Yugi was now moody as heck, and had heavily turned to sarcasm, something he rarely used in the past, and only in good humor. Yami cringed as he thought of the ridiculous arguments that had spawned over the last few months. It seemed that everything he did nowadays upset Yugi. If he even _looked_ at the boy a certain way, Yugi yelled, and fighting was not something he particularly enjoyed. Definitely not with Yugi, anyway. Not with the one person who was always on his side in the past. It made Yami think that maybe, maybe, adoption was their best bet. If Yugi was like this now, hateful and bitter because of what had happened to him, what was he to expect for the future? Would Yugi calm down and return to his old self once the baby was born? Or would he live the rest of his life feeling that he made a very huge mistake?

He straightened up as he forced himself to think of the few good times they had had these past couple of months. Like Yugi's first ultrasound. "_That_", Yami remembered telling Yugi afterward, "_was just…magical_." Yami didn't do so well at first, constantly asking the doctor if the process would hurt Yugi, and only after the seventh time Yugi laughed and told him it wasn't so, did he calm down and pay attention to the figure on the screen. It was ever so tiny, but it was life. Life he and Yugi had created. That tiny little thing was his future son or daughter, and the ultrasound technician smiled as Yami squeezed Yugi's hand. Grandpa had also gone with them and stood on, although it was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling. Yami liked to believe that there was a sense of pride and awe in him, even if he wouldn't show it. Moments like that made everything seem so possible. That they could do it, they could raise this baby, and they wouldn't struggle while doing so. It gave Yami so much hope, even though he knew he was asking for too much.

The former Pharaoh shook his head and smiled, ridding himself of all thoughts. He had something bigger to focus on now. A chance to keep their child. A chance to keep their family in tact. Yami glanced over to the desk clock, his eyes straying over the abandoned Millennium Puzzle. Seconds later he was out the door, a black blazer draped over his arm.

* * *

Yugi reluctantly moved forward, head and shoulders bent low in an attempt to shrink away from the world. Joey and Tristan walked briskly on either side of him, constantly raising their fists at the whispering, and occasionally laughing passerby. The pregnant boy had been the complete center of attention this morning, and all excitement of it being the first day of school had shifted to him, much to his chagrin. The press had attacked his school, and like so many times before, he had to be protected, rushed inside, leaving him not only frustrated but completely humiliated as well.

"Can we help you!?" Joey barked at a male student who gaped at Yugi and shook his head in utter disgust. The student merely chuckled and stepped into the nearest classroom as Tristan cracked his knuckles. The three finally stopped in front of Yugi's new math class, a class Joey had later in the day.

"Alright," Joey sighed. "You got him for this one, and then we shift next period. I'll meet you out here as soon as I get out."

"Right," Tristan said with a nod.

"Aww come on, cheer up Yug," Joey said with a light, playful punch to the small boy's cheek. Yugi merely looked blankly forward, near the verge of tears, but struggling to keep himself together. "It'll get better. Remember, this is high school. Tomorrow, they'll be onto the next thing."

"Thank you, guys. I-I'm sorry to be such a burden-"

"Hey! You stop that. You're no burden at all, okay? You're my best friend, and I'm going to make sure you're taken care of."

Yugi gave Joey a weak but warm smile, and allowed himself to be led away and into the room by Tristan. Sure enough, he was met with varied stares, but luckily, Tea was also in that class, and she went up to meet them, after telling everyone to get a life. They chose seats in the back of the class much to Yugi's relief, and as he sat through and survived his first class, his confidence was boosted a little. With Tristan and Tea by his side it wasn't so bad. He at least wasn't bombarded with questions.

And with Joey next period, it was absolutely hilarious. The blonde kept purposely drawing attention to himself through the entire class, in whatever way he saw fit. He even farted once during the lecture, although Yugi didn't think that one was actually intentional, as Joey's face turned a deep shade of red and the class burst out into hysterics. The small boy continued to be traded among his friends throughout the day; his final class being the only one he didn't know anyone in. Tristan, Joey and Tea weren't too happy about having to leave him on his own for that last hour, but they didn't have much of a choice: the three had gym that period, and Yugi had been exempt from the class due to his circumstances. He was instead taking an extra history class, trying to get in as many credits in as possible before he had to take paternity leave towards the end of February, if it turned out his gestation period would be the same as a female. No one could tell for sure, and Yugi was terrified beyond belief. It was scary not knowing exactly when the baby was coming or even _how_.

At the end of his class, Yugi walked over to the gym, and waited patiently in the hallway, slowly rocking back and forth on his heels. After a few more minutes, the door opened, and Yugi glanced up, a smile gracing his face as he watched for his friends. He quickly frowned though when he recognized the first student to walk through the door; it was one of his many bullies, one of Ushio's friends. But for once, Yugi didn't turn or look away; he merely stared as the larger boy grinned and approached him.

"Hey Muto!" the bully said in mock excitement. "Been busy, haven't you?" he said with a glance at Yugi's stomach. Yugi didn't even have time to react to the comment. The next thing he knew, he was roughly shoved face first against the nearest set of bright red lockers, and he groaned as he collided and his breath escaped him.

"You know, I bet your kid is going to turn out to be a sick faggot just like you," the boy said, leaning directly behind Yugi and whispering in his ear. He laughed when Yugi angrily shuddered and released him, leaving the small boy to turn around and push his back against the lockers, gasping heavily for much-needed air as his eyes narrowed. One second the bully was smirking in front of him, but when Yugi blinked and opened his eyes again, his view was empty. He quickly scanned his surroundings and breathed in again when he saw the guy on the floor, clutching his cheek, his eyes burning into the figure before him. Yugi looked to his right, and saw Joey with his hands near his chest, balled into fists, his face red with fury. Tristan glared on next to Joey, and Tea was suddenly at Yugi's side pulling him away from the lockers.

"Don't you ever touch him again, ya asshole," Joey growled.

The gym coach was now running outside, whistle blaring. The situation took awhile to clear up. Both Joey and the bully received in-school detention, and this having been yet another offense on Joey's part, was warned that he would be suspended from school next time. Once they all got out of questioning in the principal's office, Yugi apologized over and over and over, feeling he was completely responsible.

"Yug, stop it all right?"

"But-"

"I said I would protect you, and I will."

"We all will," Tristan added.

Yugi sighed and was a bit surprised when Tea latched onto his arm and pulled him over to her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, me and Yugi have some shopping to do," she said to the others.

"Oh," Yugi said. "That's right, um, listen Tea, can we reschedule? I really just want to see how Yami's doing. He had an interview over at Kaiba Corp. this morning, and-"

All three of his friends' eyes widened.

"K-Kaiba? Yug, Yug, Yug, you gotta be kidding...uh, right?" Joey sputtered.

Yugi shook his head. "Which is exactly why I want to go home and see how it went. The thought of Yami working for Kaiba, I, well I'll admit it, I don't like it. But we're out of options."

"Where da fuck is Kaiba today anyway? He thinks he can just miss school whenever he feels like it?"

"Well, heck, I would too if I could get away with it," Tristan said with a sigh. "Now we going over to Yugi's or what?"

Yugi smiled. "Yeah, let's go."

Tea released his arm and crossed her own. "Well, you do whatever you want, but I promised I'd get that baby some clothes, and I'm going to."

"Tea, Yami and I still aren't sure we're keeping it. Again, please don't. Wait till later, please," Yugi begged.

The brunette chuckled. "Fine, I'll only pick out a _couple_ of things. It won't hurt to have a least a little bit in case you decide to, you know..."

Yugi gave Tea a weak smile, knowing he wasn't going to win this. The three waved as she turned and left, then proceeded out of the school and towards the Game Shop. They laughed about things the whole way there, and Yugi genuinely smiled the entire time, something he hadn't done often lately. When they arrived, Yugi couldn't help but run into his home, scanning the lower level for his darker half.

He found him sitting blankly at the kitchen table, and Yugi sighed, immediately taking his expression for bad news.

"Oh Yami, I'm so sorry…"

"Yugi-"

"Please, you're trying. It's not your fault. Please Yami, please don't-"

"Yugi, I-"

"We'll figure something out, we have to."

"Yugi!" Yami exclaimed, making his light jump and become silent. "I start Wednesday."

"Yami you can't blame yourself-Wait, what?!!"

"I start Wednesday. Kaiba hired me. Can you believe it?" Yami laughed as he rose from his chair.

"Oh Yami! I, I can't believe it!" he said as he ran into Yami's open arms. "I mean, I didn't think Kaiba would want…"

"I'll mostly be dueling against his software, testing it out for him while he's away on business. I didn't even speak with Kaiba today though. He was out on a business trip, but I interviewed with a couple of his company leaders and apparently he gave the go-ahead to hire me. I've landed something Yugi. That means we have a chance."

"But when I came in you looked so-"

Yami sighed, and clutched Yugi tighter. "Solomon's found some adoption couples he wants us to meet with soon. He's really pushing for it."

"Oh," Yugi sighed. "Right now, honestly though, I just don't know what to do. But you have a job now Yami. I'm so proud of you."

"Nice work man," Joey added as he stepped into the kitchen. "God knows I wouldn't have been hired by Kaiba."

Tristan laughed, and the whole kitchen burst into laughter soon after.

* * *

_Hello Diary,_

_So guess what? Yami got hired!!! I know, I'm thrilled. Well, kinda. I'm not going to exactly be fond of him working with Kaiba, but ya know, what can you do. I feel like everything's going so fast. I'm getting this really awful feeling in my gut, like, like something's coming. Well, duh. Haha, the baby. And I'm not sure about the adoption couples Grandpa picked out. We're supposed to meet with them sometime soon, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. Part of me wants to listen to what they have to say, and part of me just wants to drive them away as soon as possible. And, hah, I know for sure Yami would prefer the latter. Well, these next few months are going to interesting. I'll be making some big choices...I'll keep you updated!_

_Until tomorrow, _

_Yugi Muto_


	10. Month Five

A/N: Just five more chapters after this one! AHHH! I'm really going to enjoy writing them too, even if they are a bit...dark. This chapter's a little short, (blech, transitional chapters) but the next one should be longer. Oh, and thanks for reading and reviewing guys, really. You're all awesome!

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

"Mr. Muto? We're ready for you."

Yugi sighed, puffing out his cheeks as he turned to Yami, who sat restlessly in the seat next to him.

"Question is, are we ready?" Yugi whispered, a slight smile gracing his features.

Yami could only turn and return the warm smile, then turn to Solomon, who was present as well. The three stood up from the near-empty waiting room, Yugi clutching Yami's hand tightly.

Yugi was now a little over five months into his pregnancy, and this ultrasound was highly special; it would finally determine the sex of the baby, something that everyone was extremely excited about.

They made their way into a small lab room, and Yugi, with Yami's help, jumped onto to the bed before laying back and making himself comfortable. Solomon pulled over a chair for Yami, and Yami sat holding Yugi's hand as he watched the ultrasound technician prep Yugi and the machine. The former Pharaoh couldn't help but notice that Solomon had made a big deal to attend every single ultrasound as well, and considering his obvious bias against keeping the baby, it really made Yami think that maybe deep down Yugi's grandfather _was_ excited about all this. Well, maybe...just maybe.

"Alright Yugi, you're ready. Let's just take a look here…" the now-familiar female technician said, almost in a sing-song voice. She slowly moved an instrument over Yugi's exposed stomach, and smiled as she examined the screen. Everyone's eyes shifted from the screen back to the tech, wondering just when she was going to reveal the news.

"Would you like to know the sex?"

"Yes!" All three exclaimed at once, causing even Solomon to surprise himself.

"All right…Congratulations, Mr. Muto," she said with a warm smile. "It's a boy!"

All three sat unmoving for about a minute, until Yami turned to face Yugi, his mouth slightly open and his normally controlled eyes suddenly brimming with tears.

"I'm having a son. I'm going to be a father! I-I'm having a son!"

Yugi smiled brilliantly back at him but waited for the nurse to finish checking the baby before sitting up and sighing contently. According to her, everything looked great: their son's development was coming along nicely. Tristan and Joey would be thrilled, and despite Tea's hope for a girl, Yugi was sure she would get along just fine.

Yami was practically humming as they left the nearby hospital, but Solomon, as always, was quick to break the excitement.

"Remember, you're meeting with the Hiroshi's today. I know them personally, and I must say they would be excellent candidates for adoption. Now both of you, all I'm asking is that you quit with the attitude and hear them out. The other couples we've met with so far don't want anything to do with us anymore, and hmm, I wonder why? Yugi, we can't go through with an adoption if you just sit there and refuse to say a word to them, and Yami, cursing Egyptian in their faces doesn't exactly give a very good impression, now does it? It makes you look like a looney."

Yugi chuckled. "Which is exactly why he does it."

"Oh Yugi, you're so wishywashy," Solomon said with a heavy sigh. "One day you want the baby, one day you don't, I just, I don't know what it is you _do_ want."

"I want time, Grandpa, I just want time."

"Well, we don't exactly have a lot of that right now. Four months, Yugi, and mind you, this is a decision that must be made _before_ the baby shows up. We'll just meet with them today, and you can think about it, alright?"

"Fine. What time?"

"They're coming over later tonight, and I demand the utmost respect from both of you."

"Hmm," Yami snorted, causing Solomon to sharply turn and glare at him. "How can I respect someone who's trying to take _my_ child away?" he said, returning Solomon's glare.

"Don't you look at me like that Yami. I'm trying to do what's best for everyone; you two are just too stubborn to see it."

The mood was tense as they finally approached the Game Shop. Yami suddenly stopped, and Yugi glanced up at him, his eyes traveling over to what the taller boy was looking at. An extravagant black limo sat parked in front of the shop, and Yugi immediately groaned in worry. But when the door opened, and Mokuba stepped out, Yugi gave a huge sigh of relief and actually laughed.

"Hey Mokuba!"

"Yugi!" the raven-haired boy exclaimed happily as he ran over to the three of them.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked as Mokuba quickly hugged Solomon.

"It's Kaiba, he needs to talk to Yami," he said, his eyes shining brilliantly at the words.

Yugi shifted his weight uncomfortably, and suddenly Seto Kaiba was standing right in front of him, looking as tall and professional as always, his usual smirk present on his face as he looked down at Yugi.

"Holy crap, you're fat."

Yugi's mouth dropped and he gaped at Kaiba for a second, causing Yami to wince as he watched the temper flare up behind Yugi's large eyes. It was a look he knew all too well these days. "THANK YOU." Yugi seethed through his teeth, harsher than he intended, as he rolled his eyes and stormed off towards the shop. Solomon shrugged at Kaiba, and him and Mokuba rushed after Yugi, leaving the other two alone.

Yami looked on after them, quietly chuckling under his breath as he turned to face the brunette.

"Hmm," Kaiba snorted. "Look, I'm going to make this short and to the point. I'm leaving for the next two months, business, and Mokuba's staying here to look after the company headquarters. Now, I don't trust any of the idiots working there, and heck, I don't trust you either, but Mokuba mentioned this last night, and I think he's right. If you were to pull anything funny and try to screw me over, Yugi's foot would be so far up your ass that-"

Yami's eyes widened slightly, and Kaiba harshly laughed.

"Must be fun dealing with a hormonal brat. Anyway, I want you to keep an eye on Mokuba. Make sure the managers don't take advantage of him just because I'm not there. Those bastards get all hyped up everytime I'm out of town. Make sure that whatever Mokuba says is enforced, no questions asked. You think you can handle that?" he asked with a sneer.

Yami regained his composure. "So I'd be overseeing the company with Mokuba. Would this be considered a promotion?"

"What do you think, loser? For now, yes. You in or not?"

"I'm in. I'm so in." Yami grinned slightly as the words left his lips. "You know we're having a boy?"

"I really don't give a shit. Mokuba!" Kaiba called. "Let's go."

"Wait, you came all out of your way just to tell me this?" Yami asked.

"I had to see Yugi for myself. He looks absolutely ridiculous."

Mokuba came running out of the house a split second later, waving back to Yugi, who had a sudden nervous look on his face. Yami locked eyes with his aibou, and mouthed "What?". Yugi mouthed back what Yami took as, "Grandpa."

Sure enough, a cab was suddenly parking itself near the shop, and Solomon walked out the front door, a large bag in his hands as he made his way over to the car.

"I thought we were meeting with the-!" Yami called.

"Urgent excavation! Hawkins needs my help. You'll just have to meet with them on your own! So behave yourselves, damnit! I want good news when I come back!"

Yami sighed and glared, before turning to Yugi, who shrugged and made his way back inside. Yami turned, looking for Kaiba though not really expecting to see him still standing there. The Kaiba brothers and their limo was nowhere in sight. Yami slowly stepped to the front door, a slight chuckle leaving him as he thought about what was in store for tonight.

* * *

"So…" Mr. Hiroshi started. The man wasn't very big, more of a medium-build but held a distinct aura of authority to him. His sleek dark hair cut off at his shoulders, and he was dressed in a neat, navy blue business suit. His wife sat tall next to him, her sharp beady eyes always locked onto Yugi's; her mouth smoothed into a firm line.

"Solomon tells me you're about five months along now? Excellent," Mr. Hiroshi said with a curt nod before Yugi even got the chance to reply. Not that the boy would have. Yugi sat completely silent at the other end of the table with Yami, his arms crossed tightly in front of him; his brilliant eyes slightly narrowed as he glanced back and forth at the "guests".

Not that Yami looked any more inviting. A clear deadly scowl was etched on his face; his deep, crimson eyes alone were speaking every obscenity known to man.

"I do wish Solomon could have been here to meet with us, but what can you do, heh heh," the man's wife commented with an odd, brief laugh, which Yugi and Yami made sure not to return. After an awful silence, the man cleared his throat.

"Now, both of us are very qualified for raising a child," Mr. Hiroshi pitched, "We do have the funds, and although we're both quite busy, we can definitely find room for this baby. Now, do you know what it is yet?"

"Boy," Yami couldn't help but mention despite his rage.

"Well, perfect, we were open to anything, so this is wonderful," Mrs. Hiroshi said with an awkward smile as she clapped her hands together. "He will make an excellent addition to our little family. Boy, huh? Well, Tai it is!" she exclaimed with a playful jab to her husband's side.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Yugi finally piped up, "but you're acting like we've already made this decision. What makes you think we're giving him up at all?"

"Surely you're joking," Mrs. Hiroshi laughed, her face falling slightly when Yugi's eyes remained firm.

"No," Yugi said. "My grandpa's the one that wanted us to meet. Yami and I aren't sold yet on this idea. Well, Yami's one hundred percent unsold, I guess," he said as his large eyes glanced up at his boyfriend and back at them. "Look, I just don't want you getting your hopes up. I'm still not sure."

"Well," Mr. Hiroshi whispered, his whole demeanor darkening instantly. "When _will_ you be sure Yugi? When the baby's born?"

"I-I don't know. I just-"

"Maybe only then you'll realize that nothing but a delinquent child can be raised in conditions such as these. Horny teen parents with little income. Tragic, is what it is."

Yugi gave an audible gasp as he looked up at Mr. Hiroshi, his mouth open in shock. The man slowly got up from his side of the table and moved behind Yugi, placing a firm hand on his shoulder and leaning down a bit as he spoke near Yugi's ear.

"But you can make the right decision Yugi. You can give this baby a chance…a chance with us...with an established family...face it, your son has no life with you…"

Yami watched as Yugi's bright eyes suddenly went blank.

"Get out," Yami slowly whispered, a deadly intensity underlying his words.

"Your son will only suffer if he's with you…"

"I said get out," Yami stated again, a little louder.

"Now Yugi, does the baby really have to pay the price just because you couldn't keep your legs closed?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Yami yelled as he stood from his seat; his voice resonating through the entire game shop. "You get out. Now," he growled; the sound reading as almost animalistic.

"This decision is ultimately up to Yugi sir," Hiroshi said, unperturbed, standing back up to his full height. "You think about it boy, alright?" he said as he thumped the wide-eyed boy on the back. Yugi was silent.

"It comes down to this. We really want this baby Yugi," the woman finally said. "You're not prepared, and we're going to do everything in our power to change your mind."

"You try that," Yami quickly chimed in. "You just try."

"Is that a threat?" Hiroshi growled.

"It'll become a death sentence if you don't leave right this second."

"Oh ho ho, you think you were being tough just now? You're nothing but a scared little shit on the inside, and you know it. You know you can't raise this baby. Deep down, you know it..."

"My son's not going anywhere," Yami proudly growled. "You, on the other hand, are."

Both froze as Yugi raised himself from his seat, and slowly turned his eyes on Mr. Hiroshi, suddenly glaring and staring him down. "So maybe we won't make the best parents. Maybe we don't know what we're doing. Maybe we did make a huge mistake. Or maybe it's a blessing after all. Maybe we're meant to keep this baby, maybe not, I don't know yet. But I will. But even if I choose to give him up in the end, it most certainly won't be to you, so there. I never want to see you people again. So get out of my house."

* * *

Yami glared and clutched Yugi tightly on the front lawn as they watched Mr. Hiroshi slam his car door in absolute fury and step on the gas. Yugi trembled slightly as a deafening screech broke through the quiet air, and the Hiroshis raced off as quickly as possible, leaving an eerily silent street in their wake.

"I'm proud of you Yugi," Yami said, looking down at his light, a grin present on his face.

"Yami," Yugi asked with a shiver, finally seeming to come to. "What did we just do? Oh, Grandpa's going to kill us!"

"Oh, just be glad I didn't hit him. He had no right to talk to you like that, like you, like you were some kind of lowly whore. I only wish I could have...and if Solomon has any sense in him, which I know he does, he'll side with us on this one. They're nothing but a bunch of psychotic baby leechers."

"Well, some people are just that desperate for children, I guess," Yugi said blankly, looking down at his stomach and running his hand over the bump. "I mean, if you think about it, it _is_ kind of unfair, here we are, nowhere near ready for a baby, yet it happened. And for some people, this never comes…"

Yami watched him intently as the boy sighed and lowered his head, before lifting Yugi's chin with his finger and gazing into his violet eyes. Yami placed his other hand on Yugi's stomach and leaned in, kissing the corner of the boy's mouth gently before moving his lips to encompass the other's.

A few feet away, under the cover of a darkness, a tall figure's smug grin sharply dropped. Bakura stood frozen, rooted to the ground, his eyes narrowing into mere slits as he watched the pair. He looked on disgusted as the two broke apart, and the Pharaoh delicately kissed the smiling boy's forehead before taking his arm and leading him back into the house. The albino barely noticed his own hands balling into fists at his sides. He suddenly turned around; turned away from what he just witnessed. The brat was _happy_. The Pharaoh was _happy_. Clearly not part of the plan. It was wrong, all wrong…

Bakura's dark eyes glazed as he made his way through the alley, his mind racing a mile a minute.


	11. Void

A/N: Oye. That's all I have to say about this chapter. Here comes the dark...

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

"Yami! Psst! Yami!"

The former Pharaoh deliberately rolled over; a soft, muffled groan passed through the jet-black blanket laying over his head.

"Yami! Please…I gotta go!"

Suddenly, the blanket was torn away from him and he shivered slightly as Yugi's angelic face came into focus. Sighing, he slowly sat up from his position on the floor of his room, taking a brief glance over to his bed, which Yugi now inhabited on a nightly basis. Yugi's stomach was getting bigger and bigger as the days passed and eventually, the twin bed proved not to be big enough for the both of them. Thus, Yami offered it up to his aibou, and now took a temporary residence on the flat floor.

"Yugi, this baby shouldn't be here for another few months. You're acting ridiculous."

"I'm coming to the end of my sixth month Yami! Anything could happen! I just don't want to be alone when I go to the bathroom, okay? I'm scared!"

Yami made the mistake of looking directly into Yugi's pleading eyes. "Alright, alright. Let's go," he said as he sighed and extended his arm towards the door, hurriedly ushering Yugi out of the room. He sat outside the bathroom door as Yugi did his business, afraid to rest his head on the wall for fear of falling back asleep, which would cause Yugi to be furious if he were caught. His aibou stepped out of the bathroom mere seconds later, and he winced as he held his stomach.

"He's in a bad mood today," Yugi said with a hiss.

Yami instantly perked up, walking on his knees over to Yugi and placing his hands on top of his light's. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly, eyes full of fearful concern.

Yugi let out a deep breath, then helped pull Yami up from the floor. "Kicking. I tell you, this kid is always kicking. It feels like he's playing soccer with my insides, ooh," he groaned as he let go of Yami's hand and stepped back towards the bedroom.

"Just be glad you're not growing breasts," Yami chimed in with a chuckle. "Now how odd would _that_ be?"

He half-expected Yugi to shoot him "the look", which would have resorted in Yami instantly shutting his mouth, but he was pleasantly surprised when the boy actually laughed, and turned around to face him.

"That would be…just…weird."

The two laughed on for a few minutes, eventually hushing themselves as they remembered Grandpa was still asleep. Yugi finally locked eyes with Yami, and smiled as he reached up and held his dark's face. "Oh, I love you," he whispered. "I know I'm all out of whack now, and I'm driving you nuts, but I just want you to know that I love you, okay?"

"Yugi, I'm not crazy…yet," he added, causing Yugi to chuckle once. "I love you too. We're going to get through this. We will."

Yugi smiled, "I know. But in the meantime can we go back to bed? It's like four in the morning."

Yami laughed quietly and led Yugi back to the bedroom, helping him get on the bed, and pulling his dark comforter over him, before returning to his position on the floor. Yami made himself as comfortable as he was going to get, making sure to turn and face Yugi. He watched as Yugi's breathing eventually steadied, and as his chest rose and fell. Yugi was beautiful inside and out, that he had known since the first second his soul entwined with the boy's oh so long ago. But the pregnancy truly added an almost ethereal quality to him; Yugi was absolutely heavenly. So beautiful, so delicate, yet so capable of being harmed by the horrors of the world…Yami just watched on as his aibou slept, until he himself was finally whisked away by the dream world.

* * *

A car horn honked from outside the Game Shop, and Yami grabbed his smooth black briefcase from atop the kitchen table and stepped into the living room to give Yugi a quick goodbye. To his slight amusement, he found the boy glued to the television with his bottom and feet planted flat on the carpet, and his arms behind him for support. Yami blinked when he saw that Yugi's face was pale and his eyes were wide with terror.

"Yugi?"

Yami turned his attention to the television after hearing an intense female scream, and soon realized what Yugi had unfortunately found on TV.

"Alright, alright, Yugi, that's enough. You're psyching yourself out. Stop it."

Yami reached around to grab the remote and shut off the medical program.

"It's going to hurt, isn't it Yami?" Yugi asked blankly, reaching up to wipe some cold sweat from his brow. "I know it hurts for women when they're in labor, and I-"

"Yugi, I don't know. Maybe it'll be different for you."

"Maybe it'll hurt worse," Yugi muttered with a groan.

"Aren't you meeting with Joey today?" Yami quickly asked, in hopes of a distraction.

"Yeah, um, I should go call him. We're going to go pick out a crib. Joey wants to buy it, but I need to pick it out now so he can put it on layaway. I can't believe he's doing this…"

"We can use all the help we can get right now, Yugi."

"But we still don't-"

"Oh, Yugi," he sighed. "Well, if you change your mind Joey can always return it or something."

Yugi sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Just go Yami, you're going to be late."

"I'll see you later okay?"

"Mmhmm," Yugi mumbled, before clumsily getting off the floor and walking with Yami into the shop.

Yami kissed him briefly on the lips before heading out the door, and Yugi reached for the telephone, dialing several numbers with ease. He waited for it to ring a few times, and smiled when the accent he knew and loved reached his ears. It was familiar, and instantly calming.

"Yug!"

"Hey Joey, are we still on for today?"

"Heck yeah! I got paid yesterday so I should have enough for a down payment on the crib. Why don't ya just hang around for a bit, I'll head over to your place-"

"Actually Joey, forgive me, but I really need to get out of this house. I was thinking maybe I could meet you halfway? I could use the exercise."

"I dunno Yug, we're not supposed to leave you on your own…"

"Joey, what's the worst that can happen? It'll take like maybe twenty minutes tops for me to meet you."

"And if you run into the press or some psycho? Nah nah Yug, you wait there."

"NO!" Yugi suddenly yelled into the phone, his own eyes widening at his sudden outburst. "S-Sorry Joey, I just, I'm really stressing out. I could really use this walk. I'll meet you over at Acordia park, okay? See you in a bit."

"Yug…" Joey growled warningly.

Yugi put the phone on the receiver then headed upstairs to grab his backpack, quickly stuffing the various brochures Joey had given him from the furniture store into it. He turned to walk out of his bedroom door, before freezing and turning around to dig for his black diary. It'd been a couple of days since he'd written in it, and knowing Joey, the blond would probably be a little late meeting him. It would be nice to clear his head under the shade of the park trees.

The tri-color haired boy finally stepped away from the Game Shop and into the real world. He couldn't help but notice just how much he missed being able to walk anywhere on his own. As of now, he was constantly surrounded by either Yami or his friends, and not that he didn't enjoy their company; it just never gave him time to surrender to his own thoughts; something he didn't realize he needed so much until now. In that first ten minutes, Yugi tried to think of anything other than his pregnancy. He thought of dueling, which now seemed like a luxury since he hadn't been able to do it for so long. He thought of school, and the homework he needed to finish later. He thought about running the Game Shop on his own one day…leaving for conventions on new games, and traveling the world...but that dream was almost cloudy now.

"Yugi?" a smooth voice asked from behind him, causing Yugi to jump slightly and spin around. His eyes met with familiar white hair and large chocolate brown eyes; a porcelain face he remembered all too well.

"Ryou? Hey!" Yugi said happily, as he tried to steady his breathing. "Sorry, you scared me."

Ryou chuckled. "Oh I'm sorry!"

"Haha, so what brings you out here?"

"I was headed to see you. I heard from a friend of a friend of a friend that Yami was working at Kaiba Corp. now, and I figured it'd be a safe time to come and see how you were holding up."

"Oh, I'm alright. Well, pregnant," Yugi laughed as he gestured to his large stomach, "if you haven't guessed, but otherwise…"

"I know. It's all over the news! I meant to visit earlier and congratulate you, but I haven't had the time off work."

"It's okay Ryou," Yugi said, a genuine smile gracing his face. "You know, I've missed you. It's nice to see other people. Yami and the gang pretty much have me on lockdown."

"Oh I'm sure they're just trying to keep you safe. Wouldn't want anything happening to you or the baby, now would they?"

Yugi's hand absentmindedly ran over his stomach.

"Hey Yugi, um, would you mind if I-"

Yugi quickly turned his large eyes onto the boy's chocolate ones and smiled as he recongnized what Ryou was asking. "Oh, feel? Not at all! Here...now this baby's kicking pretty much twenty-four seven, so you should be able to feel something." Yugi took Ryou's pale hand and guided it over to the top of his stomach in search of movement. Ryou suddenly felt a sharp jab and Yugi winced sharply and closed his eyes.

"Oww, you know, that's the hardest he's ever kicked. He must really like you or something," Yugi said with a groan.

"He? It's a boy?"

"Mmhmm," Yugi mumbled with a small smile, eyes still closed.

Ryou smiled back at him, but he suddenly vanished; Bakura took this brief opportunity to take over, and placed his other hand on Yugi's stomach as well, clutching his shirt harder. The albino whispered something inaudibly under his breath while running his hand over the boy's stomach, and he soon grinned as Yugi fought to suppress a cry and Bakura felt a particularly hard jab underneath his right hand. And that was all he needed. There was a slight flash, and Ryou was Ryou once more.

"Yugi? Are you, are you alright?" Ryou asked blankly, completely unaware of the last few seconds.

Yugi clutched onto the albino, and focused on steadying his breathing. After a moment, he opened his violet eyes a bit, and smiled weakly at his friend.

"I'm just really nauseous all of a sudden, but I, I think I'll be fine."

"Oh dear!" Ryou gasped. "You should sit down or something!"

"No, no. I'll be fine. Nothing I'm not used to by now. Well, look, I'm glad I got to see you Ryou! I really gotta go though, I'm supposed to meet Joey at the park. Keep in touch, okay? I guess I'll see you around."

"Indeed," Ryou said, a warm smile plastered on his face. He wrapped his arms around Yugi when the boy came to hug him goodbye, and frowned as he watched Yugi's small frame eventually vanish from his view.

"What did you do to him…" Ryou whispered to the silent air, his large eyes sharply narrowing.

Bakura materialized next to him, a horrible, intense smirk on his face. He spoke his next words slowly, and ever so passionately: "Bakura giveth, Bakura take it all away."

Ryou's eyes snapped open, and he shook horribly, the shock driving him to his knees; his hand clamping over his mouth.

"Y-You can't…You can't do that! You, you monster!" he sharply whispered.

"Now now, Ryou-"

"You promised you wouldn't hurt him…you bastard...you promised!"

"Oh, it shouldn't hurt him physically…too much. But then ago, who knows? I'm just undoing what I did in the first place. You know, righting my wrong," he said with a short, dark laugh. "Sure, it was nice. They were distracted, but you know what? They were content. Not at all what I intended, nor what I wanted. However, they'll be distracted by this too. If the Pharaoh and his whore were so happy to conceive the brat in the first place, then they'll be devastated to lose it. Give them the candy then take it away. Distracted, _and _miserable. Like it was meant to be. This whole thing will prove to have worked out better than I could have ever possibly imagined…"

Ryou turned to stare at him, horrified tears filling his eyes. "You made a mistake. They-"

"Don't know it's me. They don't even know I'm back. And you, Ryou," Bakura seethed, slowly circling the albino, "are going to keep your mouth shut. Or you and your father are as good as lost."

"I don't even care! You're probably lying about the whole thing! You're not doing shit about my father…you're using me...and I-I'm not going to let you hurt them like this!"

Bakura chuckled. "The damage is done. In a few hours or so, little Yugi Muto's miscarriage will be headlined. There's nothing you can do now."

"I-I can let them know it's you. I can tell them everything…You'll pay for this, you-"

A sharp flash of light sparked from Ryou's body and the boy screamed; Bakura held full control once more. He growled and stepped forward, his eyes blazing.

"Not if I keep you in check, you weak, good-for-nothing brat…"

* * *

Yugi glanced up from his shaded spot underneath a leafy tree as he heard his named practically yelled. As sandy blonde hair came into his view, he quickly finished writing his most recent entry in his diary before closing it shut and stuffing it into his backpack.

"Yug! Dear God, don't ya ever do that again! You know Yami's gonna kill me when he finds out you took off alone?!"

"That's why Yami doesn't have to know Joey," Yugi said with a slight smile.

"Oh Yug," Joey said with a sigh. "What's gotten into ya? It's like, I dunno, you're the not the same person latey."

"I'm pregnant Joey," Yugi muttered with a groan as he stood from the ground. "That's what's gotten into me."

A couple of birds chirped, and a small dog barked. Joey finally turned his gaze away from Yugi, who kept his eyes focused on the floor. "Alright, well, we better go. Ya know which one you want?"

"Well, I've narrowed it down to about three. They're all the same price, so I need some help picking."

"No prob, Yug. Come on, let's go. You want me to carry that?" Joey asked, nodding towards Yugi's backpack.

Yugi looked at him sharply, and Joey folded his hands behind his head as he walked. "Okay, okay, just asking, Yug. Just asking…"

* * *

"Alright, so you're set on dis one then?" Joey said happily as he pointed over to the crib of Yugi's choice.

Yugi gave him a large smile, causing Joey to smile as well. "You got it, Yug. I'll be right back, I'm gonna go talk to layaway."

"Joey?" Yugi asked as the blonde walked away.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. So, so much…I only hope-"

"Please don't start with the waterworks Yug. I'm surprised you've still got tears in them big eyes of yours. You'll figure out what ya gotta figure out. K? Things are gonna be just fine."

"You promise?" Yugi muttered lightly with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, I promise. Now just hang out here for a bit. I'll be right back."

Yugi paced around as his best friend left the room. He walked past several cribs, admiring them and smiling greatly at a fuzzy Duel Monsters blanket that was placed inside one of them. There was suddenly a harsh jerk to his stomach, and he gasped, clutching tightly onto the nearest crib rail. He winced as he looked around for something to sit on to rest and spotted a furnished couch a little ways away. Yugi slung his backpack off of his shoulder and drug it behind him as he proceeded to make his way to the couch. An even more intense pain. The small boy groaned and released his backpack, and quickly realizing he wasn't going to make it to the couch he backed up to the wall, and slowly slid down it. He took deep breaths in an attempt to settle his stomach, but a few seconds later he cried out as there was yet another hard jab. He realized his whole body was eerily cold, and yet he was sweating bullets. The next few minutes felt like years as Yugi struggled within himself…

"Ok Yug, you are now da proud owner of a…uh," the blonde stuck his nose to the receipt as he walked in and read it. "Aw screw it, a crib's a crib! This one's got like ten words in the name, sheesh…"

Joey looked up as he realized there was silence, and he glanced around, eyes immediately scanning for his friend. "Yug?"

It was a gasp and a horrible cry that caused Joey to spin around and freeze. His best friend was on the ground by the wall, clutching his stomach for dear life, his face scrunched in agony.

"Oh God, YUG!"

Joey ran over to Yugi and immediately kneeled down, tossing his receipts on the ground, and grasping the boy's shoulders uncertainly.

"Yugi, look at me!"

Yugi attempted to look up, but another inner jab made his eyes clench tight and tears begin to flow down his flushed face. Joey's shocked eyes went wide.

"Shit, Yug, y-y-you can't be going into labor. You're only finishing up your sixth month. You, you can't…Yugi, I'm no doctor. This can't be happening here, not right now-"

"No Joey," Yugi whispered, as he suppressed another cry. "Something's wrong. I can feel it, Joey, I can feel it! I need an ambulance, now!"

"Yugi, you listen, you stay with me buddy, alright?"

Yugi suddenly screamed, tears crashing down his face, causing the little passerby there were to turn to him in surprise. "Shit," Joey muttered desperately as he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone, and clumsily dropped it as his hands shook.

"He needs help! Help!" the blonde yelled out of frustration as he picked up his phone and dialed the numbers with numb fingers. Customers and workers started curiously coming over, unsure of what to do.

"Yeah! I got an emergency," Joey croaked, his mouth going dry. "We're here at Furnished Life over downtown, and my friend, he's…uh…pregnant. Yes _he, _ya nimrod! Yeah, it's Yugi Muto, but something's wrong with him, he's screaming and I don't think he's having the baby. Something, something else-" Joey subconsciously wiped away the tears that had pooled at the corners of his eyes; the tears that had started as he was forced to watch his friend continue to scream in anguish. This time, there was no way he could protect Yugi. There was no bully to fight, no villain trying to take over the world, no sacrifice he could make; this was life, just life, and this time, there was little, if anything, he _could_ do.

Joey watched as Yugi's eyes suddenly snapped open; the small boys' body trembling terribly, his face now extremely pale. Yugi gave a sharp gasp and he froze for a split second, his eyes suddenly drooping; his vision blurring. His body was now entirely numb. The pain vanished, and everything was quiet. Oh so quiet. But where's-

Ah, there's Joey. Yugi could see the blond's lips moving frantically, but there was no sound. Yugi just stared at his lips as his eyelids fell, wondering if and why the world had gone mute. Joey held him up firmly as he collapsed to his left, blinking back the inevitable unconsciousness. Yugi frowned as he soon felt a thick wetness within his jeans, and he could vaguely hear Joey as he murderously yelled into the phone.

"OH GOD! HE'S BLEEDING, DAMNIT! HE'S BLEEDING A LOT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

It sounded so far away…

So muffled…as if Yugi were listening to him underwater.

Yugi tried to call out. He tried to tell him that the pain had gone. But there was no sound.

The dark edges surrounding his vision began to smudge and grow larger, and Yugi locked eyes with Joey's until the blonde's petrified face went black.

* * *

Yugi's friends watched on helplessly as Yami stormed back and forth through the hallway, his hand reaching up to desperately loosen the crimson tie he was wearing.

This was NOT a position he wanted to be back in. The second Joey had called and told him what had happened, Yami had rushed out of KaibaCorp and made his way over to the hospital as fast as he possibly could. And now he was a pale, growling beast, once again being forced to wait outside with the others as Yugi was…hell, they didn't even know if Yugi was okay.

The others sat frozen in their seats; Tea in tears, hands fisted into her skirt and Tristan with an arm draped over Joey's shoulder, who was still shaking and had his face buried in his hands. Grandpa stood rooted near the doors, his face pale; his eyes blank. He didn't even notice as the doors opened and the doctor stepped out.

Yami immediately marched over to him, his intended glare suddenly dropping as an atrocious fear ate at him; it crept over his entire being.

"Yugi, is he, is he alright?"

The doctor choked on his words, unsure of how to start as he looked at the boy's friends and grandfather who now surrounded him.

"Yugi's going to be fine. Well, eventually. He's lost a lot of blood and has required a transfusion, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

Tea and Tristan both sighed in relief.

"Well, that's-" Tristan started.

"Wait," Joey whispered, taking note of the emphasis the doctor put on Yugi's name. "And the baby? Is he okay?"

The man sighed. "That's the bad news. Yugi lost him. He miscarried. I'm, I'm sorry."

Tea immediately burst into audible sobs, clinging to Tristan for dear life as the brunette shook his head in disbelief.

Joey immediately prepped to punch the wall but stopped himself and instead threw his face into his hand, completely overcome with emotion. Tristan and Tea caught the words "Let" and "Down" leave his lips before Joey turned and ran from the waiting room. They desperately looked over to Grandpa, who remained shaken. Tea nodded to Tristan and stepped over to Solomon, clutching his arm. Tristan took off after Joey.

Yami had already left the room in Yugi's direction. He ran past the figures in white, quickly scanning the names on the medical charts sitting outside the rooms. He finally found Yugi's name scrawled on one of them and he pushed open the door. What he saw next truly terrified him.

Yugi lay on the bed, his blank eyes seeming to gaze at something past the ceiling. Something past all reality. There were no tears on his face, no sign of pain, no sign of hurt, no sign of anything. Yugi was a blank canvas.

"Yugi?"

No recognition. No change in Yugi's eyes. No acknowledgement. No nothing.

"Yugi," Yami sighed as he stepped over to the boy and sat himself on the bed. He reached for Yugi's hand which held an IV, and he gasped at how cold it was.

"Yugi…Yugi, look at me." With his free hand, he reached over to turn Yugi's eyes from the ceiling to him. The boy's face turned to the left with the help of Yami's hand, but Yugi deliberately refused to meet Yami's lost gaze.

"Yugi, please, I know you're hurt. I am to, but we, we have to carry on. We must."

A tear unwillingly released from Yugi's right eye, and it fell over his nose and onto the white sheets. As odd as it was, Yami wanted nothing more than to be glad for this sign of emotion, this sign of _something_, but he couldn't; his aibou's eyes remained blank and dull.

"I killed him Yami. I can't do anything right. I couldn't even...carry him to term. I killed our son. I wasn't strong enough. I failed, I-"

"Stop that right now," Yami growled low. "There was nothing you could have done…"

"I refuse to believe that. It was me, me, me. I-"

Yami shook his head. "It just wasn't meant to be, Yugi. We weren't meant to have this child. No one was," he said slowly, knowing he was lying not only to Yugi, but to himself as well.

Yugi clutched the sheets tightly with one hand, but his eyes remained focused on nothing. "So that's all you think this was? Just some experience to make me learn and grow? Well, tell me...what have I learned Yami? What? Because I highly doubt that whatever it was held more value than my son's life!"

Yami was silent.

"Just, just get out. Just go Yami, go," Yugi mumbled as he slipped his hand out from under Yami's and returned to his previous position.

"I'm not going anywhere Yugi. Know this. We lost our son, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to lose you too. We're going to get through this, Yugi."

"That's what you said last time, and did we get through it? Oh yeah, we got real lucky, didn't we? Got an easy way out! I'm serious Yami, if you don't get out right now, I'm calling security. I don't want to talk to you. Not now. Just, just go away."

Yami sat for a moment just staring at him and shaking his head, before standing up and walking towards the door. He reached for the door handle before taking a glance back at his aibou, who remained motionless. Yami closed the door behind him, and stepped out into the empty hallway. The overhead lights had been shut off; it was eerily quiet. An empty abyss that mocked his soul. He just stood in front of Yugi's door, staring at the ground, and in a sudden outburst he screamed, falling upon his knees. Everything he was holding in released in the tears that sank to the tiled floor. All the pain, the frustration, the hurt, the worry, the disappointment, the fear, everything.

And at that moment, the once cold, ruthless, bold Pharaoh wished he didn't have a heart.


	12. The Prisoner

A/N: Well, I've reached the four more chapters point! Which means three more after this one. AHHH!

WARNINGS: YxYY, Mpreg, Mature Themes, Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

Four months, one week, and two days.

Sharp crimson eyes remained frozen on the ceiling; a withered breath released in the sigh that escaped the weary man's lips.

It had been exactly four months, one week, and two days since he and Yugi had lost their son. Over four months since Yugi had said a single word to anyone. Yami constantly found himself back in that hospital room, Yugi's last words echoing beyond belief in the corridors of his mind: _"Just, just get out."_ Yugi didn't want him then, and he didn't want him now. Yugi's wish had been granted through his own actions. How did everything go so wrong?

Yami lay in his pitch-black, empty bedroom, hands folded delicately behind his pounding head. He now hated having free time to himself; it gave cause for him to retreat into his mind, something he had no reason to appreciate anymore. As far as all logic went, _he_ had somehow failed Yugi; somehow failed them both. It was now his fault that Yugi refused to speak and completely shut himself off from the outside world, his fault that his light didn't want him, his fault that Yugi had lost his spirit altogether. Over the past few months, Yami became a mere bystander to Yugi; forced to watch as his aibou's soul seemed to dissipate from his body; he was completely unable to do anything about it. Despite all his efforts to assure Yugi that he wasn't facing this alone, nothing was getting through to the boy. He couldn't even remember the last time he had touched him without it causing Yugi to quiver and sharply turn away. Yami was eerily reminded of Ryou's state after he lost his father; Yugi was mirroring it almost perfectly. He had lost weight drastically after the horrid event months ago; he barely ate, and seemed to throw up most of which was given to him. It was almost as if he were purposely _trying _to waste away…

And through all this, Yami realized he was losing himself. '_Maybe it was true after all_', he reminded himself with a snort. Without Yugi's light to keep him pure, he was falling, losing himself to the darkness. Yugi's cheery laugh was no longer present in the house, his once bright eyes no longer spoke worlds of appreciated emotion to Yami, and his soft skin was now untouchable. Yami could feel himself growing cold; he was losing Yugi by the second, and he knew it. Losing Yugi's love…it was quite possible that he had lost it already, and that thought alone was near driving him insane.

Fortunately, he still had a job at KaibaCorp despite all that had happened, and he had never been more grateful for it. He was thankful every morning to leave the sight of Yugi's locked bedroom door even if it were only for a short while. Because it wasn't a dream, it was real. That locked door mocked Yami to no end; it further reminded him of how the last several months had gone completely wrong. This was not supposed to happen…this was not to be their end…

When Yugi's miscarriage became top news, letters and phone calls flooded into the Muto residence. Several people sent their condolences; others sent hateful and downright rude letters, while a couple of orphanages and surrogate mothers offered beautiful chances for them to adopt a child since they had lost theirs. Yami immediately considered the idea of adopting a child in the hopes that it would bring Yugi back, but he feared the child would just end up being completely ignored by his light like they had all been, and if Yugi's lack of love was the most horrible phenomenon in Yami's life right now, he just couldn't condone that life to a child.

His mind traveled over to Yugi's friends and grandfather. Tristan and Tea were both over occasionally when they had the time, wanting nothing more than to bring Yugi out of his despair, but Yugi could never bring himself to utter so much as a single word to them. Yugi's grandfather was horribly lost. He too watched as Yugi emotionally destroyed himself, and like Yami, became nothing but an onlooker. Yugi paid no heed to him, and Solomon had no idea to what to do. In a terrifying outburst, he had actually blamed Yami once again; deliberately telling him that if he had just gone on to the afterlife like he was meant to, none of this would have ever happened, and Yugi wouldn't be suffering right now. And the sad thing was, Yami almost believed him. However, the ordeal ended with Solomon in tears, overly apologizing to Yami, and sobbing "I just don't know what to do..." over and over again. "I'm losing him," he said. Yami was all too familiar with the feeling. And Joey…Yami found himself sighing heavily as he thought of the blonde. It was possible that Joey was handling everything in the oddest way. He was over at the Game Shop for a few hours almost every single day to "talk" to Yugi, but of course, Yugi would have nothing to do with him. So Joey would just basically come over to sit outside Yugi's locked bedroom door for hours on end. When Yami questioned him about it, all he could mutter was that he had to show Yugi that he was there for him; he had to make it up to Yugi. Like Yami, Joey put all responsibility on himself, even though there was nothing he could possibly be at fault for.

It all made Yami realize just how much the well-being of the group depended on Yugi's bright, smiling, positive face and demeanor. Without him, they were all falling…

Each and every one of them.

Yami sat up slowly on the bed and moved his legs over to the edge of it. He contemplated for a bit, then stood and proceeded to get ready for the day. It was a few good hours before his shift began, but he had to get out. Had to escape from this nightmare, even if only for a short while. Before he left downstairs he knocked on Yugi's door, as had become custom, then gave a frustrated chuckle as he wondered why he continued to do this everyday. The boy on the other side was no longer Yugi; it was a ghost living on the second story of the home.

"Yugi, I'm heading to work now. I'll be back later okay?"

Yami found himself walking away before he even finished the statement. All hope was lost.

The door remained locked.

* * *

Yugi sat at his desk, knees to his chest, one arm wrapped around them, the other doodling on a piece of paper. He winced as the sunlight beat down through his window; it looked like it was going to be another nice summer's day, something he didn't deserve to cherish. He got up to close the blinds then returned to his previous position.

His ears picked up the sound of Yami calling out to him, but his mind refused to pay any attention. Yami. He had failed him, failed everyone. He didn't deserve Yami, that much was certain, but he lacked the strength to try and convince Yami as much. He didn't deserve his family and friends; he had lost any chance of having his own family. He didn't deserve any of the children that had been offered to him and Yami through adoption. He didn't deserve any of it. So he just went on, returning much to his former self. He felt himself retreating to the life he had before Yami, before his friends, before even Grandpa…a life where pain and abuse and loneliness ran free. A life where he fought to keep any real sense of sanity. A life where he wasn't wanted. That was the life he deserved.

Yugi gasped slightly as his grip went slack, and the pencil slipped from his hands and fell into the tiny space between his desk and nightstand. He rolled his eyes and reached down to skillfully retrieve his pencil, but his breath caught in his throat as his index finger nudged the familiar edge of a forgotten black diary. He immediately snatched his hand away, almost as if it were just burned, and sat up sharply in his seat, frozen, breathing hard through his nose, struggling with the urge to pick it up. The boy looked up in desperation; if he picked up that diary, even if it were only for a moment, he would return to the past life that was hidden within its pages; a life he knew he did not deserve. Glimpses of a life that was near-perfection at one point, glimpses of all the hopes and dreams he had before the…

Yugi bit his lip and snatched his pencil up, and after a second aimed to return to his doodling. He tried to focus on what he was drawing. Tried to focus on visual aspects of the nightmare he had had over and over since the horrific occurrence. There was always so much blood…

He cried out in frustration as the diary consumed his mind once more, and this time he deliberately threw his pencil across the room. Yugi took several deep breaths and finally snatched his diary off of the floor, and after a second tore open the cover, tears already pouring down his face. _Hello Diary_…

Just reading the words forced Yugi to bite his fist in an attempt to control the sobs that threatened to tear through his body. He scanned everything carefully, almost as if he were scrutinizing every detail. It took him over two hours to make it to his very last entry. By this time his gorgeous eyes were bloodshot, and his head throbbed with every word he read. He finally made his way to the end of the entry, and reached to shut the notebook. His eyes briefly glanced over the date as he thought of how his life turned to hell mere days after this entry.

No, wait…

This _was_ the day his very soul had shattered. Yugi's eyes froze to the page as thick memories suddenly crashed so violently through him, and he grabbed his head and cried out in an attempt to make them stop. He saw Yami leaving the Game Shop, white hair and chocolate brown eyes, Joey's wide grin as he left Yugi to purchase the crib…

Someone else's hands on his stomach; a warm smile, a horrible pain…

Yugi's eyes snapped open, as the boy's face came into focus.

Ryou.

He shook his head, softly at first, than more frantically…

Ryou, Ryou, Ryou, Ryou, Ryou.

The name rang through his head; so much so that it almost appeared highlighted to him in his own handwriting. Yugi tore through his diary once again, searching for a very specific entry. He found Ryou's name once again after a few minutes, his violet eyes quickly scanning the entry's contents. When he was finished, Yugi looked back at the date and ran a few calculations in his head.

A sharp gasp tore through the room, and the boy froze in his seat, eyes staring into the white wall before him. He trembled as he looked around his room in contemplation. After a good minute, he rushed across the room to retrieve his maltreated pencil, and tore open the diary to an empty page. He scrawled and scrawled and scrawled, tears splattering onto his words, causing them to smudge slightly. When he was finished he clutched his head with both hands, thinking heavily about what he had to do. He finally stood up and wiped away his tears, his stare hauntingly unfocused as he quickly dressed and left for the hallway. As he passed Yami's room he had an eerie out-of-body feeling: once again the world around him seemed to slow down with each step he took. Yugi gave a slight smile when he finally reached the head of the stairs; he would find what he needed on the lower level.

* * *

Yami opened the front door, cursing slightly as he shook the water off of himself; what had started off as a nice, sunny day ended with clouds, thunder, and rain, which drizzled down the street. Realizing he wasn't going to get any more dry, he threw his briefcase on the couch and proceeded upstairs. He passed Solomon's open room with slight alarm, until he remembered that he had left with Hawkins for a few days. "Good for him," he muttered. Yami knew he himself was desperate for an everyday break from their current life, and it was about time Solomon took one too.

He looked straight ahead but didn't see Joey; he must have had to work tonight. Yami mechanically stepped towards his room, stopping only to take a glance at Yugi's locked bedroom door.

Yami froze.

Yugi's door was open.

"Yugi?" Yami called out, his heart immediately pounding in his chest. This could be what he had been waiting for all this time…

"Yugi?" he asked again, his eyes lighting up with a brilliant hope that had been lost over the last few months.

Yami knew how horribly this could backfire but he decided to take the chance. He stepped over to Yugi's doorway, tears starting to prick at his eyes, but his smile dropped instantly as he scanned the abandoned room. Yugi wasn't there.

'_Yugi's probably just in the restroom,'_ he thought with a disappointed sigh. He looked across the hall, but the bathroom door was wide open. Yugi wasn't downstairs though…

Yami's mind started to race; Yugi didn't want anything to do with anyone, so where could he possibly be? He quickly stepped into Yugi's room, stopping suddenly as memories of a simpler time hit him smack dab in the face. This is where Yugi lived while Yami still inhabited the puzzle. And it tremendously depressed Yami that the mess leading into Duelist Kingdom was now seen as a simpler time. But he couldn't worry about that now.

Yami was about to turn and check his own room, until a familiar sight met his eyes. Even though it was opened, he could instantly tell it was Yugi's little black notebook; his diary. Without even thinking, Yami approached it; an indescribable force drew him to glance at the open pages. He was shocked to find that the entry was addressed to him. He quickly snatched it up, his breaths becoming heavier, as he eyes tore up the words…

Yami's eyebrows scrunched together in a desperate confusion throughout the letter. None of it made any sense to him...how could...He finished and just stood looking ahead, mind racing like mad. What in the hell was it that Yugi was seeing and he himself wasn't?

And the notebook crashed to the floor, falling through the Egyptian's quivering fingers.

Yami's eyes froze to the white walls of Yugi's room, and he watched in horror as the white swirled and formed spikes. Demented spiky white hair…

At that moment, everything came together. Yami furiously cried out for not guessing it sooner.

When did Yugi leave?

Yami snapped open the blinds, hurriedly eyeing outside. It was dark already. Yugi could possibly have been gone for hours…

As he cursed and raced from the room, he swore he could hear Bakura's distinct low laugh echo through his mind.

The notebook lay rejected on the floor; open perfectly to Yugi's letter...

_Yami,_

_I've got to make this quick. I'm sorry I failed us. I'm sorry I gave up. I'm sorry I lost myself. You know, my father always used to tell me I was worthless; just one big waste of space. And you know what? He was right. I've pretty much proven that. But I think this might be my one chance to give my soul any sort of redemption. Ryou, Yami. He knows something, or he did something to me…I don't know, I don't know, I don't know…but it hit me like a bullet today. Now I know it was against your wishes, but I somehow ran into him twice; once around the time I conceived, and again the day I…you know. Coincidence? Maybe, but I'm going to find out for sure. Yami, I'm going after him. I don't know what's going to happen, but I need answers. And if Ryou knows something…he's going to tell me. _

_I'm sorry that you're barely finding this now. I honestly don't know what's going to happen. But this is something I have to do on my own. This is my last chance to right my wrong. And just in case this all goes wrong, and this proves to be my final mistake…tell everyone I'm sorry. So, so sorry. _


	13. Let Go

A/N: I was surprised at how easily I was able to write this chapter once I actually sat down to do it. It's just one of those things where you know exactly how the scene's all going to play out, even before you start writing the first chapter of the story. Strange, isn't it?

Warnings: YxYY, Mpreg, Language, Violence, Mature Themes, Character Death

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters involved in this fic.

* * *

Yami looked to the sky; massive drops of rain splattering on his face and rolling down his entire body. It was now nearing midnight, and Yugi was nowhere to be found. Tristan and Joey stood a few feet away, completely drenched in rainwater; their fearful eyes focused on Yami's lost ones, which were blinking back the wetness falling from the sky.

Yami had utterly rushed into the situation; after reading Yugi's letter he had immediately took off to Ryou's apartment and torn down the door through sheer force, both hoping that Yugi was there and also that he was not, yet the place held no inhabitants. Panic overtook him, and he phoned his and Yugi's friends, quickly telling them the news and all about Yugi's theory, ultimately informing them of how desperately he needed their help. That was at eight o'clock. Four hours had gone by, and the boys had been completely unable to locate Yugi or Ryou. Tea was told to wait at the Game Shop in case Yugi somehow showed back up, and after the first hour of them being unable to find him, she called Solomon. He was on the first plane ride back home. She had also called the cops, and they were now off searching the streets for suspicious activity, but Joey and Tristan had insisted on staying with Yami while he searched.

And they now stood victim to their own fear. Yami finally dropped his head and began slowly walking forward; Joey and Tristan looked at each other with unreadable stares before following.

* * *

Yugi continued to push through the streets, his eyes barely beginning to adjust to the intense sunlight he had forsaken for so long. He had never been so grateful to see intense dark clouds coming in from the west; promises of the nearing storm. He was about halfway to Ryou's place, and the light was beginning to disgust him.

The small boy stopped at a crosswalk, impatiently waiting for the traffic to clear. A light breeze ruffled his spiky hair, and he closed his eyes for a moment, forgetting for a mere second that he wasn't allowed to be enjoying this. As he thought of this, his two hands squeezed the object he held within the center pocket of the much too big for him cream colored hoodie he wore. As upset as it made him to wear it seeing as how it was part of his old pregnancy wardrobe, it was the only thing big enough for him to hide what he was holding while still being able to utilize it quickly if necessary. With his hands frozen in his hoodie, he watched as a young woman walked up on the other side of the crosswalk holding a tiny black-haired boy on her hip. Yugi found himself unable to turn away, but soon realized as the woman laughed and danced with her son while waiting, that he was not a part of their happiness. He would never ever be fortunate enough to have that.

Yugi sharply turned his head away, and was about to walk to the next crosswalk to wait there instead, when something caught his peripheral vision. He turned his eyes to the dimly-lit alleyway behind him, and froze as they met with white. The figure was far off, but even as Yugi squinted to get a better look at the person with his back to him, he couldn't help but notice how hard his heart was thumping. He had to get a better look. Yugi abandoned the crosswalk and stepped into the empty alleyway, completely entranced by the figure he had seen farther off. He sneakily made his way closer to the walking figure, and hid behind a large crate to avoid getting too close too soon, however he soon realized that he was actually much closer than he thought. He scanned over the edge of the side of the crate to get a better look at his victim.

Well, perhaps fate was on his side today. Yugi knew that tall, spiky haired figure all too well. As he narrowed his eyes, he waited silently until Ryou had stepped almost out of sight before starting the chase again. There were various twists and turns to the path the albino seemed to be set on, but Yugi managed to stick right behind him. Several streets were crossed, and the surroundings were becoming less and less familiar. About forty minutes later, Ryou stopped and Yugi finally took the time to look around; they were in the midst of a group of similar giant wooden warehouses. From the look of them, each were abandoned; it didn't look like they had been used a whole lot in years. Ryou looked to be headed into the centermost one whose front doors were already open. Yugi waited until Ryou had disappeared inside before running after him, not caring if he were caught at this point. It was quiet, he had Ryou completely alone, and the boy was going to talk. Oh, was he going to talk. Yugi clutched the cold object in his pocket with his hands in reassurance. The warehouse was completely dark; Yugi could barely see a few feet in front of him. The lights suddenly harshly flashed on, and Yugi squinted as the shadow of a figure danced along the walls of the warehouse.

A soft chuckle echoed through the space.

The second the sound reached his ears, Yugi snapped. He spun around, and with one hand pulled out and held the object in his pocket straight ahead of him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…now Yugi, didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with guns?"

"Bakura," Yugi seethingly stated. The small boy's hand didn't falter. He glared up at the wretched albino before him, his deep violet eyes daring the sharp brown ones to make contact.

Bakura laughed. "Well would you look at that. Little Yugi Muto's grown a bit of a backbone. Never would have guessed. Although I do hope you know how clumsy you are. I could see you following me five minutes in..."

Fire spurred within Yugi's eyes. "What did you do to me, you bastard…"

"Goodness, language little one! That damn Pharaoh must really be a bad influence on you…"

"What did you do to me," Yugi repeated, each word enunciated through clenched teeth.

Bakura couldn't help but chuckle. "I gave you life, and what did you do? You gave it all away. Shame on you, Yugi Muto, shame on you," he teased.

"No," Yugi stated with such intensity that it caused Bakura to immediately stop his chuckling. "It was you, you did this to me and then you took it away, you heartless piece of-"

"I must say I quite like this change in you Yugi. However, you still are a naive idiot…"

"What do you mean?" Yugi demanded.

"Of course it was me, you fool. But tell me Yugi, did you or your Pharaoh happen to pay any attention to the world outside your little fine and dandy one?"

Yugi's eyebrows scrunched together, and the boy narrowed his eyes more.

"Each day I destroy more and more of this stupid city, and not one person has been able to track me down."

Yugi's eyes snapped open. "You? You're the one-"

A forgotten memory soared through Yugi's mind; he saw himself running faster than he ever believed possible, Yami could be in the museum, Yami could have been in there…

He shook off the fear that was unconsciously seeping through him as he remembered everything else that had been burnt down.

"It was the perfect plan you see. Everything ran right under the Pharaoh's nose, but did he see it?" he struggled with the urge to laugh again. "Oh no, no, no, because the big bad Pharaoh was off playing Daddy."

Yugi slowly shook his head in disbelief. He and Yami had let the whole baby problem get in their way of helping others. How many had lost lives to Bakura with him and Yami out of commission?

Yugi's hand trembled slighty.

"How was your morning Yugi?"

Yugi snapped out his thoughts, but was thrown off by the question.

"Because I must say mine was marvelous. Domino bridge proved to be as much of a challenge as I imagined it to be. My, my, was it exhilarating to watch it fall."

Yugi froze. Hundreds could have been on that bridge; Yami himself rode that bridge on his way to KaibaCorp every morning…

Yugi screamed and prepared the gun for fire.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bakura bluntly stated. Yugi just glared, his breaths coming heavy.

"One, these warehouses are going down next. You see those?" Bakura said with a nod behind him, and Yugi finally noticed several large gas barrels lining the walls of the warehouse. "If you were to miss, well…" he said with a wide grin. "And two, it's ridiculous to think you can kill me Yugi. Surely you remember that I am nothing but a spirit? Now Ryou, on the other hand…"

Yugi's eyes fell defeated to the ground and he lowered the gun as Bakura began to slowly circle him. He knew this of course. Could he risk murdering his old friend? What if Ryou wasn't a part of this? As Yugi thought, each circle brought Bakura closer, and closer…

"You know, I can give you back what you want Yugi…" the demon started.

Yugi gasped, his blank eyes staring at the floor, desperate tears immediately streaming down his face despite his will.

"Only this time, I've got a wonderful idea…" Bakura whispered with a grin once he was directly behind Yugi, causing Yugi's head to snap up in confusion. "Now Yugi, what would our dear Pharaoh say if he discovered you were pregnant with, oh I don't know, my child?"

Yugi cried out in horror and jumped away from Bakura, raising the gun again with shaking hands; the small boy taking slow steps backwards.

"Would he be devastated?" he questioned, his eyes blazing, his grin intensifying. "Well, would he? Hmm, I always liked the idea of having an heir, and this just might be the right way to go about it. Oh is your Pharaoh in for a real treat…"

"No," Yugi begged as Bakura advanced. "No, you can't do this!" he cried. Yugi gasped when his back hit a wall, Bakura was coming closer…

And once again, everything froze in Yugi's world. All sound vanished, and Yugi looked up at the albino, his steps coming incredibly slow. Wide violet eyes focused on Bakura's grinning face. That grin was so familiar, so-

Yugi screamed as the villain vanished, and his father materialized in Bakura's place. Spiky black hair with red streaks replaced the white, and blood-red eyes consumed the boy's chocolate ones. The same grin though, that same horrible grin…

The small boy clutched his head with both hands, gun still in one, screams tearing from his throat.

A chuckle.

"You're more fucked up than I thought, kid."

The voice was a mix of both Bakura's and his father's, the voice of a true demon.

Tears crashed down the boy's face as he found his own voice.

"Look, you have no right to touch me. I won't let you touch me anymore!"

"What?" the figure said as he cocked his head to the side.

"You stay away from me!"

The figure laughed and advanced.

"I said stay-"

Another step.

"You bastard, you stay-"

Step.

"I SAID-

Step.

A gunshot rang through the warehouse.

* * *

"Yami, Yami, stop it. We're gonna find him, we just, we just gotta keep looking okay?" Joey said as he attempted to lift his unresponsive friend off the street.

"You can't be serious! You're giving up already?" Tristan yelled. "Yami, I swear if you don't get up right now, Joey and I will kick your ass big time. Yugi needs you, okay? We have to keep looking. He'll turn up, he will. "

"Ya know Tristan, what we need to do is split up again," Joey said as Yami shoved the blonde's hand away and finally rose on his own. "Go to Tea, she's probably freaking out on her own," Joey muttered with a short glare at Yami.

"Hell no, I want to keep looking-"

"Do it, Tristan!"

"No way, you can't leave Yami on his own. Guy doesn't even know what he's talking about-"

"Will you just fucking go Tristan!? Look, I'll call you in a bit and I'll trade ya, but right now Tea's on her own, and trust me, Yami'll be fine."

Tristan sighed and shrugged off the harsh rain. "Fine, whatever."

"Keep an eye out for Yug on your way back. If we have no luck I'll call you in an hour."

"Got it. Take care, guys."

Tristan reluctantly ran off, heading back to his motorcycle as Joey sharply turned to the soaked Yami.

"Now you listen to me Yami, the situation has turned serious. The more we cover, the better, so you take that way, got it? I'm gonna head over to the pier, and check that area. Did you get that?"

Yami nodded, eyes still to the ground.

"You can't give up now Yami. Yugi wouldn't give up on you."

"He already did."

"God, will you listen to yourself!? Yami, you got something good going in your life, and you can't lose him now. He's hurt okay? We've all been hurt at times. But we can bring him back, I promise you. Now, question is, are you ready?"

Yami raised his gaze to meet firm honey-colored eyes.

"Let's do this Yami," Joey said, determination written all over his face.

Yami was slightly taken aback by the sudden power within the blonde's voice, and soon he felt that strength bleed off into him. The Pharaoh finally nodded at his friend, rain pouring all around them, and the two tore off in opposite directions.

* * *

Yugi fell to his knees, the gun falling out of his quivering hands and landing a few feet away from him.

A bleeding body lay directly in front of him; face buried in the ground. After several deep breaths, Yugi crawled over to the figure, and with tears still falling down his face, turned over the body to see his face. Pale, soft features. Closed chocolate brown eyes. A content smile.

Yugi immediately had the urge to throw up and turned away, trembling all over. With his hands and knees covered in Ryou's blood, he screamed and clutched his head, his breaths coming so quickly that he knew he was hyperventilating.

As regret immediately began to fill his very core, Yugi looked up, his lost, blank eyes meeting the silver gun laying a few steps away. Without a moment of contemplation, Yugi crawled towards it, his movements seeming ridiculously slow. After what seemed like a lifetime, his hand fell upon the gun's handle, and tears marked the ground as his eyes closed and he gave a sigh of relief.

Before he could pick it up however, a thought crossed his mind and his eyes snapped open. He stood and turned back to face Ryou. The Millennium Ring laying on his chest gleamed with the light of the warehouse. He stepped over to Ryou, unable to look at his face and checked for a pulse for confirmation; there was none. Yugi looked to the open doors of the warehouse and made up his mind. He couldn't leave Ryou here. Yugi lifted one of the albino's arms over his shoulder, and half-carried, half-drug the taller boy to the exit. He carried him past the gravel outside, and into the nearest alleyway. He finally released Ryou, and rested for a few seconds before his gaze fell to Ryou's chest. To exactly what he needed. That beautiful, powerful, gleaming Ring.

With a small apology he removed the Millennium Ring from Ryou, and stared at the item as he held it within firm hands.

Another memory suddenly flashed in his mind; Marik, Bandit Keith, a warehouse, and swarming flames ran through his head. Fear. Fear. Fear. Suffocation. Yami…

Yugi almost lost the Millennium Puzzle that day. If it had burned, Yami would have gone with it.

Yami would have been lost…

Yugi was surprised to find himself already back in the warehouse, the Ring thrown near several gas barrels, gun in hand.

This would create one heck of a fire. Yugi was sure each and every one of the neighboring warehouses would burn down with this one. Staring at the Ring, everything from the last several months played in his head. All of the hurt, excitement, fear, hope, and love. Oh, the love.

Yugi shot at a barrel at the back of the warehouse and hit it dead on, causing it to ignite. The barrel nearest to it caught fire almost immediately, and Yugi took one last look at the cursed Millennium Ring before turning his back to it and serenely walking out of the place.

The dark clouds he had seen earlier were now almost directly over him, Yugi noticed as he stepped outside of the warehouse. Rain. But it wouldn't reach the warehouses fast enough. The first one was already almost completely lit.

In a matter of seconds, the Ring would be gone. Bakura would be gone. And in a matter of minutes, he thought, he would be gone too.

Yugi thought hard of his next destination, but smiled as the location visualized so beautifully in his head. It would be raining over there. Perfect.

Yugi pulled his eyes away from the burning building after the next warehouse caught fire, and retreated into his now calm and tranquil mind as the sky turned grey.

* * *

Yami was amazed at how much his spirits had lifted within the last ten minutes, even though they really weren't supposed to. He quickly hung up with Tristan, and was just about to call Joey to tell him the news when he realized that Yugi's cell phone was receiving an incoming call from the blond himself.

Yami immediately hit accept, and called Joey's name. The reception must have been bad, because Yami couldn't make out a single word Joey was saying.

"Joey, listen, Tristan just called saying that the cops found a body and he had to go to identify it in the case that it was Yugi, but it was Ryou. He's dead. And Tristan said the Millenium Ring was gone. I can't explain it, but I have this feeling that Yugi got him."

Yami's eyebrows scrunched together as Joey broke down on the other line.

"He did it, oh god, he did it…"

"I think Bakura's gone for good," he said, pride radiating through his voice. "Now we've just got to find Yugi…Joey? Joey, what's wrong?"

As he listened to Joey sobbing uncontrollably on the other end, something he had never heard before and certainly didn't want to ever hear, an unspecified fear crept into his heart. He tried to shake it off as he continued to question the blonde.

"Joey, what-"

"The pier. You need to come down here right now," he managed.

"Joey…" Yami started, but soon found he didn't want to ask the question.

"Please, you need to get over here now, please…"

Yami choked, but the word he was dreading left his lips anyway.

"Why?"

"Yami, he's…he's dead."

Silence.

"Yugi's dead."

The phone fell to the floor.

Several intense black-and-white images flashed behind Yami's eyes in a matter of seconds: Yugi turning and smiling at him, Yugi tightly hugging his grandfather, Joey with Yugi in a playful headlock, Yugi running from Yami, laughing so hard tears fell from his eyes, Yugi curling up next to him, Yugi mouthing _'I love you'_...

Black, silence, suffocation…

Yami stopped breathing.


	14. Breathe

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters in this fic.

* * *

"Joey..." Tea warned, her voice barely above a whisper.

The blonde stood idle, his fists and forearms against Yugi's bedroom door.

"I'm not going to stand for this! Look, I could tolerate you not showing up at the pier that day, I could tolerate you not helping us plan for this, but God, Yami, you're going. I don't care if me and Tristan have to break down this door and drag you down there! You need to go...we all do, man!"

Tea desperately turned to Tristan, but he shook his head with a brief glance at her and turned back to Joey.

"Open the damn door!" the blonde yelled with a harsh pound from his fist, causing Tea to jump slightly.

"Yami man, it's been three days, you've gotta get out of here!" Tristan angrily exclaimed. "We've needed you, Gramps has needed you, and where the hell have you been? You can't do this to yourself Yami. Yugi wouldn't have wanted this!"

"Please Yami," Tea said quietly, her eyes watering. "Please, just let us in. Let us help you."

Joey quivered slightly as the silence remained. He boldy turned to stare into Tristan's eyes after a long moment, and the brunette nodded. Joey stepped away from the center of the door and positioned himself to the left, allowing Tristan to move himself to the right. Tea protested, but after a single second reluctantly stepped back; her quiet pleas left unanswered.

On the count of three, Joey and Tristan both charged hard at the locked door, knocking one side clear off its hinges. Tea followed as the two forced their way inside the heavily shaded room. The blinds were shut, not even one bit of the overcast skies outside were allowed to penetrate the walls. Overall, the room looked to be in the same condition they had last seen it despite its new inhabitant.

The blonde who led them turned his eyes to Yugi's bed and froze.

It wasn't the gleaming Millennium Puzzle securely cradled in Yami's hands. It wasn't even the fact that Yami was adorning one of Yugi's black hoodies. It was the look Yami gave him when he raised his eyes.

That same eerie glare he gave right before the Sennen Eye appeared on his forehead and he banished an enemy to the shadow realm. The piercing stare he gave to all who posed any sort of threat to Yugi.

Loathing.

And for a brief moment, Joey thanked God that Yami's powers had been stripped the day he chose to stay and become human. The blonde faltered for a brief second, but quickly recovered his firm stance. None dared to step any further into the room.

"Yami, look, get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes," he stated, his honey-colored eyes completely consumed in crimson, which seemed so intense against the ghostly paleness of the other boy's skin.

"Leave me be," Yami said calmly, his stare unwaivering, his challenge never falling.

"No," Joey muttered despite the tremors coursing through his body.

The Pharoah's eyes narrowed, and ever so slowly he stood. Even though the boy's eyes were locked on the puzzle in his hands, Joey again fought that urge to retreat, that sudden fear. Unable to look at Yami, his eyes turned to Yugi's desk, and to a photo which lay propped along it. All of the high school friends, with grins as wide as can be, each making peace signs with their fingers. He focused solely on Yugi's happy face, and to the Millennium Puzzle hanging from his neck. It brought a sense of renewed strength, and the blonde spoke confidently.

"Yugi's dead, Yami," Joey said, as he felt that awful, tangible tension spread through the room. "There's nothing you can do to bring him back. Nothing any of us can do..." The blonde paused a moment as he took in his own words. "Closure Yami. That's what we need. I-I hate to say it, but this is the first step in moving on. So let's go. Let's just-"

"Get out."

"Yami-"

"Leave."

"God! Will you stop acting like such a kid? You're not the only one hurting you know! Yug was my best friend. But am I going to go and destroy myself because he did? No, damnit! Because in the end he saved us, he saved all of us, and you know it! Now Yug's gone and we-"

A piercing crash echoed through the room, and Yami stood, his brief hitching as he watched each of their eyes widen. All three had turned to the completely shattered puzzle that lay on the ground, the puzzle that had only missed Joey right ear by a mere inch.

Tea's hand clasped over her mouth in hurt shock, and Tristan looked on at the Pharaoh, head shaking in disbelief. The blonde slowly turned, his eyes traveling over every single gleaming golden piece; each one a symbol of everything Yugi once held dear.

Joey looked back up at Yami, hazel eyes boring into the boy's own.

"What you trying to do, kill me?!"

Yami turned his back to them, his hands gripping the nearby desk so hard his knuckles were turning white. "I said go."

Joey, for a near minute, found his eyes torn between Yugi's shattered dreams and Yami.

"Fine," Joey finally muttered, throwing his hands up. "I give up," he said as tears filled his eyes.

"Joey..." Tea whispered.

"You don't see it, do you? Yug gave everything for you; his life, his soul, his love, so that YOU could learn kindness and compassion. So that you could understand what life's really all about. So that you could _live_ it! It's nice to know it was all in vain." He sharply wiped his eyes, and turned to the others. "Let's go, Gramps is waiting downstairs."

"But Joey-" Tristan started.

Joey made his way past Tristan, pausing only once before he left the room.

"Yugi may be gone, but I swear Yami, there's light within you too. You gotta find it, before it's...before it's too late."

Tristan immediately followed, as did Tea after a short pleading glance at the Pharaoh.

Another second, and Yami was alone.

With a glance at Yugi's photograph, his back collided with the wall and he slid down it, head buried in his hands as he trembled.

_The memories never stopped._

_The faces never disappeared._

_The dreams never ceased to haunt._

_Would they ever? _

* * *

And after the silence, little by little, people finally began to clear out.

The small funeral procession had officially finished, and now all that was left was for them to say goodbye to their pale friend lying in that shiny black coffin. Joey's eyes focused solely on the coffin a few feet ahead, about to take a step towards it, but Solomon shakily got there first.

The blonde immediately turned away and looked to the sky, desperately trying to collect himself as the old man's sobs began to pierce the air. Tea immediately buried her face in her hands at the sound, her entire body trembling. Tristan sighed and briefly put a hand on her shoulder then stood, making his way over to Joey.

"You okay, man?"

"No," Joey muttered truthfully, his sigh laden.

Tristan nodded in agreement, and the two stood silent for a moment. Another cry from Solomon.

"C'mon," Joey concluded.

"We're leaving?" Tristan asked in disbelief.

"No. But he needs time. Privacy, ya know?" the blonde said slowly. Tristan understood. He nodded again, then went over to whisper to Tea, who actually fought with him for a moment; she seemed incredibly reluctant to leave Solomon alone.

"Tea, Hawkins is with him. C'mon."

Tea looked up with tear-filled eyes for a second, then finally nodded and stood. The three friends began to make their way across the gloomy, overcast park; Tea following cautiously with her eyes closed, as if that would lock out all sound from the overcome man fading behind them.

"I'm worried about them," Tristan stated after awhile, eyes to the ground.

"Me too," Tea added, although it came out as more of a squeak. "But how can we help them if they won't let us in? Yami won't even really speak to us…"

Joey sarcastically chuckled. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yugi was the same way before he went and…" the blonde stopped walking for a second, and took a deep breath before completing his sentence, "ya know…killed himself."

"So what's the next step, Joey?" Tristan asked, after a dead moment of silence.

"Well, both are blaming themselves to no end. Gramps feels like he straight-out handed Yugi the chance for suicide; Yugi used his gun. And Yami….well, the guy might as well be dead," he said with shrug. "Look, we gotta be there for them, even if they don't want to listen. Yug taught me so damn much; even if the world's like shit, you gotta find a way to push past it, and keep going. If you lose hope, you lose, well_, _everything. And we can't let that happen. Yugi wouldn't have wanted it to."

"Ya know, sometimes I have a hard time believing that, Joey." Tristan muttered.

"What are ya talking about?" Joey asked with a slight glare.

"Yugi gave up, didn't he?" Tristan asked with a raised voice. "Blew his brains out, and left us to pick up the pieces. Well, what if we can't?"

"Hey, hey, Yugi did _not_ give up. He just wasn't in the right state of mind, that's all…he was already set; he did what he felt he had to…there was nothing we could do to help him anymore. And that's something I'm finally starting to see."

"Why? Last time something bad happened to Yugi, you shut yourself off too. How come you're acting all-"

"Last time I wasted all my time feeling guilty for myself, and did it help? No. I still lost Yug in the end. But if I can forget about myself for one minute and really help someone else hold on when all else seems lost, then, well, I think I'll be okay too. I love Yug, and I miss him…" he said quietly, taking another breath to steady himself. "Oh God I miss him. But if we're not careful, we're gonna lose Yami and Gramps too, and we can't, we just…can't…"

"Yeah…yeah, I know…you're right, Joey," Tristan said, eyes frozen on Joey's honey-colored ones. "Heh, looks like that brain of yours is finally getting some use," he said with a small chuckle and jab of his elbow.

Joey actually laughed, and Tea smiled.

"Did you guys know Kaiba actually came?" she said with a slight grin, taking advantage of the moment.

"No waaaaay," both Tristan and Joey replied, lightening up the faint atmosphere a bit.

"Yup, he was sitting in the last row, but he was definitely there. Didn't figure he would have wanted to show up at all. Too touchy a situation." She gave a petty chuckle. "Ain't it crazy though? I mean, Yugi's touched so many lives…"

"That's our Yug," Joey said, pausing to look up at the murky sky. "That's our Yug, all right."

The three were silent and closed their eyes as the incoming breeze ruffled their hair. They stood like this for several seconds, until a sharp gasp from Tea brought them out of their reverie, their tiny moment of reprieve.

Joey looked down and nearly stopped breathing himself.

Yami stood several feet away, ghostly pale; an incredibly pained expression on his face.

Joey, Tristan, and Tea just stood staring at him, wind ruffling their clothes. Yugi's black hoodie still clung to Yami's body. The blonde couldn't help but notice how young and vulnerable these different clothes made the once-Pharaoh look; as opposed to his usual sharp, intimidating clothing, he now just looked as normal a teenager as he could, and it was incredibly odd.

He looked to be having an internal war of some kind; his body seemed to be struggling with the urge to move forward, but a hidden force kept him rooted to the spot. Joey, Tristan, and Tea just watched from afar, tears already silently streaming down Tea's face again.

And Yami finally turned around, hands pulling at his hair as he began to walk back in the direction whence he came.

"Alright guys, let's go," Joey firmly stated. Tea and Tristan nodded, and the three began to step towards their friend. Yami suddenly stopped, his mind racing once more.

"Hey Yami," Joey said carefully, a tear racing down his face against his knowing.

Yami froze and looked up as the voice reached his ears, but did not turn around.

"We didn't think you'd come," Tea whispered, a small smile on her face.

"You can do this man, we're right here with you," Tristan added, his eyes scanning over Yami's thin body; Yami looked almost frightened…so childlike…

"Look man, you don't have to talk. You just listen, okay?" Joey started slowly. "I know you're scared. We're all scared. Because this is it, ya know? After this we have to accept the fact that our buddy's not coming back. We all loved him Yami," he said with a pause as the corners of his eyes began to burn. "We loved him so much. He was my best friend and my ally, he was such a good kid, and without him I never could have possibly helped my sister get that surgery. And I sure as hell wouldn't be who I am right now if I, I-" Joey finally broke off, putting a hand over his eyes to hide the first sob that racked his body.

Yami turned hauntingly slow and stared at him; just watched as Joey broke down. Yami couldn't have possibly seen it in the past three days, but the blonde had really stepped up in time of crisis. He had easily become the leader of the group; become the voice of reason to the others as they faced Yugi's death; as Yami himself went numb.

The boy finally turned his gaze from Joey and back to the coffin further down. Yugi's grandfather was now being led away by Hawkins. The pained expression immediately returned to the Pharaoh's face.

"C'mon. We'll go together," Tristan said slowly, a hand on Joey's shoulder. The blonde quickly wiped his eyes, and took a deep breath as he took a glance in the direction of Yugi's resting place. Joey slowly then turned to look at Yami, his honey-colored eyes gleaming with passion.

"Let's do this," he said, staring directly into Yami's crimson eyes. De ja vu hit, and Yami returned the gaze with uncertainty, but found his foot stepping forward despite it.

The next few seconds were a blur.

One moment they stood beside the pavement, the next Yami found himself staring at the backs of his three friends, who completely obstructed view of the coffin's inhabitant.

"He looks so handsome…" he heard Tea say softly on his right.

Joey finally turned around; a warm smile defined on his face, and held out a hand for Yami.

Yami eyes went dull as he stared at Joey's hand; this was it.

Everything in his mind told him to retreat; to flee, to escape, to run from the inevitable, but his feet remained rooted to the ground. Desperate, he raised his eyes to shake his head no, but something caught his eye past Joey's ear.

Time itself stopped. Or so it seemed.

Crimson eyes widened as chills coursed through his body. Yugi stood several feet away, hands at his side; his smile serene and soft, yet the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. His violet eyes bored into Yami's; all fear was absent, his soul filled with an indescribable instant calm. Yami was being drawn to him, he took a step forward, but slowly Yugi took one back. Yami's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, and he stepped again; Yugi held that same magnificent smile, but it now contained a dash of apology as he took several more steps backward. Yami froze, the tears that hadn't been shed finally beginning to fall…

"Yami? Hey Yami, you okay?"

Yami blinked at Joey's concerned call, his eyes quickly snapping open to return to his view. He frantically searched the field ahead of him; the field his mind eventually concluded was empty. A cruel trick of the mind? Was that it? But yet, why did his heart deny it so? He looked back up to Joey in desperation.

And then he felt it. A rush like no other, a breeze that made his eyes close in content. A breeze that carried a presence he knew all too well. The light. Yugi.

After a long pause he shakily took Joey's hand as tears sprung into the blonde's eyes, and allowed himself to be led front and center, to the boy's vessel. Yami couldn't help but smile even as the tears ran down. Tea was right, Yugi was absolutely breathtaking. Flawless, pale, content: He noticed Yugi was wearing the same outfit he had the day they first made love; the necklace Yami had given him that night still hung proudly on his neck.

He reached down and cupped Yugi's cold face, then leaned and placed a long kiss on the boys forehead. His tears fell onto the silent boy.

The breeze subsided.

* * *

The Game Shop was eerily quiet. Solomon had fallen asleep hours ago, and the others had decided to stay over and were sleeping downstairs.

Yami himself had taken to staying in Yugi's room; unable to get any rest at all. He lay in his lover's bed, subconsciously caressing the space next to him where Yugi would have been had he still been alive. He found himself wondering the same question he had for several months now: Why did everything take such a bad turn for the worst? It was always supposed to be Yugi and Yami, always. Yugi and Yami growing in love, Yugi and Yami making dreams happen, Yugi and Yami fighting the evils of the world. But now…there was no Yugi. Light had been vanquished. And yet, life was to go on without his aibou.

Yugi had retreated from him today; it was not time for them to be together. Yami was to live.

The boy found himself glancing up at Yugi's nightstand, and his eyes met with that damn alarm clock. As a brief image passed through him, he actually chuckled. He could perfectly see Yugi's shocked face as he himself was prepared to chuck it out the window. The clock now read three fourteen in the morning. Yami slowly sat up, realizing he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep whatsoever tonight. He turned his head to glance out the window, watching the ever present darkness. Oh, the night. His eyes fell a bit, and connected with something he had completely forgotten about in the past few days: Yugi's diary.

That same indescribable force drew him to it, and before he knew it he was seated at Yugi's desk, the desk lamp on, hands shaking on either side of the notebook.

_'This is wrong,'_ he thought, until he felt a warmth on his hand, none of which he had ever felt before. Chills sparked through his entire body, and without a second more of contemplation, the former Pharaoh gently opened the cover of the notebook.

That night, Yugi's memories consumed Yami. Became Yami. Each page he read illustrated the life of a boy he would never forget.

A boy whom he grew to love beyond all else. A boy who turned him from darkness and showed him the light. The one who knew of all his troubles but never ceased to remain by his side. The one who would fight with him...

A caring smile, a warm hand, a gentle touch…

Fate had brought the two together, and fate had ripped them apart.

"But not forever," Yami said with a slight grin as Yugi's cheerful face danced through his mind, and he closed the diary, mind full of the trials and tribulations the boy faced alone throughout his short life. But what surprised Yami the most was the number of entries depicting his moments of utter bliss. Yugi's life had been anything but normal, but for the most part, he was generally, well…happy. He leaned back in Yugi's desk chair, hands behind his head, staring out the window ahead of him; watching as the trees outside swayed with the early morning breeze.

"Thank you Yugi, for everything. I promise I'll make you proud," he whispered as a single tear fell down his smiling face. "Promise."

He couldn't know it now, how he would duel his way to the Duel Monsters title. How he himself would run the Game Shop when Solomon passed. How he would fall and continue to rise. No, he couldn't know it now. How he would live his life to the fullest because Yugi had saved him.

Joey was right.

Saved him…there was no other word for it.

Yami shut off the desk lamp.

* * *

A/N: So...I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this chapter. It took forever because I changed it once I finished it, but it ending up merging into the same thing, so lol, I just went with what came to me in the first place. What I can say though is how proud I am of myself for actually making it through an entire story. I've tried to start many in the past, but they'd never reach the third chapter, and I would end up deleting them. So yay for this being my first actual completed fic! I plan on writing many more Yu-Gi-Oh! fics in the future, because let's face it, I'm obsessed with these characters, so you'll definitely see me again. =)

As far as this fic went, I had an extremely hard time making my mind up on things. I went back and forth on pretty much everything. I knew I wanted it to turn dark and I ultimately knew where I wanted it to go, but a large portion of it was stuff that just came to me as I sat down to write and took a chance on. And overall, I'm pleased with this. It went the way I wanted it.

Oh, I was shocked to see that this story has reached over fifty reviews! Now I don't write for reviews, I write to tell a story, to share it and to get it out of my head, but I can't tell you how much each and every one of your reviews has encouraged me and kept me going. I really do appreciate every word you've shared with me. So I would like to give a great big thanks to all of you! And thanks also to every one who put this story on alert, who favorited it, who took a chance.

Until next time! =D

-TGSquirtle


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